Serendipity
by H. Matsui
Summary: Lizzie and Gordo have just graduated from college. They haven't spoken to each other in six months. Yet, as destiny would have it, they end up in the same hotel on a magical, serendipitous autumn night. UPDATED! CHAPTER 14 -- OCTOBER 25. LG.
1. Default Chapter

David Gordon walked up to the hotel front desk. He gave the hotel clerk his driver's license and waited as the clerk confirmed his reservation. David was in San Francisco to start filming his first movie. He was 23 years old, having just graduated from film school. He had just gotten financial backing from Jerry Lee, a Sillicon Valley dot.com billionaire who was eager to produce a mainstream film about the internet. A few months ago, David pitched to Jerry a film about the postmodern counter-culture of internet chatrooms. Jerry fell in love with Gordo's pitch and promised him 5 million dollars to begin production of his film. David jumped at the opportunity, and that led him to San Francisco, to begin his filmmaking career.  
  
As David continued to wait at the front desk, he noticed the name tag of the hotel clerk. It read, "Lizzie Jansen." He saw the name and immediately began thinking about his best friend, Lizzie McGuire. He closed his eyes and winced with regret, as the last time he had spoken with Lizzie was six months ago, when he and Lizzie fought over the phone.  
  
******************* Six Months Ago*********************  
  
David: Lizzie, I'm just trying to be honest. Really, I don't understand what you see in Stewart."  
  
Lizzie: Gordo, what has Stewart ever done to you? Ohmigosh, I don't get why you hate him so much! What's going on, Gordo?  
  
David: Look, Lizzie, I just see the way he treats you. You've been going out with him for two years, and honestly, I still don't get it. He's a nice guy, but he's a complete flake! I've seen you guys together, and he doesn't treat you the way you should be treated."  
  
Lizzie: (silence) How should I be treated, Gordo?  
  
David: (silence). Ummm..  
  
Lizzie: well? Hello?? earth to Gordo..  
  
David: (laughs) You know what I mean, Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie: uh, no I don't. Gordo. So why don't you tell me! How *should* Stewart treat me?  
  
David: geez, McGuire, have you ever thought of becoming a lawyer? You sure know how to cross-exam with the best of them.  
  
Lizzie: Thank you, Mr. Gordon. But, you're being an evasive witness. You're not answering the question. Objection!!!!!  
  
David:: (laughter)  
  
Lizzie: Hey, maybe I should become a lawyer!  
  
David: I love it when you laugh, Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie: Uh, still not answering the question, Goooor-doooo.  
  
David: (laughter). Okay, okay. You've got me, McGuire. I give up.  
  
Lizzie: Thank you, thank you very much. Now, answer the question!!!!  
  
David: okay, look Lizzie, I just care about you, that's all, and I don't like seeing you getting hurt. I know you haven't talked about it with me, but I can sense it whenever we talk. There's just something that's missing with you and Stewart. You don't love him. I know it.  
  
Lizzie: that's not true. I think he's, um, perfect for me. Yes. Perfect.  
  
David: then, why do you call me to tell me each time he's hurt you? Why talk to me? He's your boyfriend, the person you should be able to confide in the most. And yet, you call me whenever he does something to make you miserable.  
  
Lizzie: well. . . (silence).  
  
David: you know you're my best friend, Lizzie, and I just think that you deserve so much more than what that guy can give you.  
  
Lizzie: (softly).Gordo, please, I know you don't approve of Stewart, I've known that ever since Stewart and I started dating.  
  
David: really, Lizzie? You've known all along what I think about him?  
  
Lizzie: uhhh, YEAH!!! Of course! I know you too well, Gordo.  
  
David: urrrr, damn, you McGuire, you are the devil, you know that?  
  
Lizzie: Yes, yes, yes.yes, I'm satan incarnate!!!! Ha-ha- Haaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!!!  
  
David: hey! I'm being serious!!!  
  
Lizzie: (silence. Quiet). Me, too, Gordo. Me, too. (pause) Gordo, you mean the world to me, and all I want is for you to support me in my decision. I want to be with Stewart. Can't you accept that?  
  
David: solemn silence.  
  
Lizzie: Gordo?? Are you still there?  
  
David: (in a quiet, monotone voice). I'm still here, Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie: Well, tell me what you're thinking.  
  
David: I'm thinking, well, I'm thinking, that. . .  
  
Lizzie: what?  
  
David: that.I can't stand by and see you ruin your life. Lizzie, Stewart just isn't right for you! I know it. And I know you know it too.  
  
Lizzie: Gordo, if you can't accept Stewart, that means you can't accept me. You can't trust me.  
  
David: no, no, no, no no, I trust you, it's Stewart that I don't trust.  
  
Lizzie: no, you don't trust me, Gordo. What kind of best friend doesn't trust in his best friend? Tell me, Gordo.  
  
David: Lizzie. . .  
  
Lizzie: (her voice starts to crack).umm, Gordo, I have to go, okay?  
  
David: Lizzie, I'm sorry, please don't---  
  
Lizzie: I just have to go, that's all. I've got ummmm, chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven. I've got to take them out.  
  
David: Lizzie,. don't go. Stay with me.  
  
Lizzie: I've got to go---the cookies are starting to burn. Okay? I'll, um, talk to you later, okay?  
  
David: Lizzie. . . .  
  
Lizzie: good-bye Gordo.  
  
David: Li--- [click..bmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm].  
  
Lizzie was gone.  
  
David kept holding the phone to his ear, dumbfounded.  
  
And he hadn't spoken with Lizzie since.  
  
*****************************************************  
  
Mr. Gordon, your reservation's confirmed. You'll be staying in room 333.  
  
"Thank you.." David took the room card from the hotel clerk and made his way to the elevator. As he walked to his room, he was still in a daze, thinking about his estranged friend, Lizzie McGuire, thinking about just how much he missed her. . .  
  
A half-hour after David Gordon had checked into his room, a young blonde woman walked up to the hotel front desk. She gave her driver's license to the hotel clerk, and waited for the room card to her room.  
  
The hotel clerk looked at the driver's license, and exclaimed, "Hey, you have the same name I do! Neat!"  
  
Lizzie McGuire smiled at the hotel clerk, and let out an unenthusiastic, "yeah, neat." She had just flown across the country and was not in the mood for much chit chat. She tried to be pleasant, but she realized she just didn't have it in her. "Can you just give me the card to my room?"  
  
"Oh, sure, Ms. McGuire. Here you are, you're in room 335."  
  
"Thank you." With that note, Lizzie McGuire walked to the elevator and went up to her room.  
  
*********************************  
  
My first fan-fic! Please read and review. Thanks! 


	2. Chapter Two

Lizzie entered her hotel room and immediately threw herself on the bed. It was 1:00 a.m. and she had just flown into San Francisco from Boston. She was in San Francisco to cover a big criminal trial for the Boston Globe.  
  
After graduating from Boston University, Lizzie landed a one year fellowship to work as an intern for an established reporter. Lizzie decided early in high school that her career goal was to become a reporter for a major newspaper, while at the same time she would try to cultivate and develop her real passion: writing romance novels. She even had her pen name picked out already: it would be Hilary Duff. The day she came up with that name, she had thought, *Hilary Duff* sounds soooo like someone who'd romance novels with titles like "Passion in Paradise: A Love Story in the Carribeans" and "A Parisian Night of Passion To Remember."  
  
Lizzie's favorite word was "passion," and so her already made up titles for her future romance novels all had derivations of the word "passion" in them.  
  
As Lizzie rested on her bed, she was trying to come up with more romance novel titles, and she also thought about the unusual day she had exactly one week ago.  
  
******************One Week Ago**********************  
  
On a beautifully crisp October Sunday, Lizzie and her friend Miranda were walking around Harvard Square in Boston. Miranda Sanchez, her best friend from middle school, was her roommate in Boston. After high school, like Lizzie, Miranda also decided to attend Boston University. And, just like Lizzie, after she graduated from college, she stayed in Boston to work as a publicist for a recording company.  
  
Lizzie and Miranda were walking past the street musicians when they came across a gypsy fortune teller. She was dressed in stereotypical gypsy clothes, with a colorful bandanna wrapped tightly around her head, and with her very own crystal ball to boot. She had a sign which read, " Fortunes Read: $10." They looked at with her with curious bemusement, because she reminded both of them of the wicked witch from the Wizard of Oz. They were about to walk right past her when all of a sudden, the fortune teller yelled, "you two! STOP!!"  
  
Startled, Lizzie and Miranda turned to the fortune teller. Lizzie said, "Are you talking to us?"  
  
"Yeeess. I'm talking to you. Let me read your fortune." The woman looked straight into Lizzie's eyes with a stare so piercing and eerie that Lizzie had to break eye contact right away.  
  
"Uh, look, we don't have any spare cash, so I'm sorry, no fortune reading for us today," said Lizzie.  
  
"Yeah, sorry," chimed Miranda.  
  
Lizzie and Miranda turned to walk away, when the fortune teller said in a sly yet booming voice, "But Lizzie, don't you want to know about your destiny?"  
  
Lizzie turned back to the fortune teller and with a quivering in her voice revealing her surprise said, "Wait? How do you know my name?"  
  
Miranda looked at Lizzie with a quizzical stare. She hadn't mentioned Lizzie's name at all.  
  
"Well, don't you want your fortune read or not?" asked the fortune teller, with a visible impatience.  
  
Lizzie looked at Miranda. "Hey, can you lend my ten dollars?" Miranda dug into her purse and found a wrinkled ten dollar bill. She handed the bill to the fortune teller.  
  
"Thank you. Now, let me look into my crystal ball and let's see where your destiny lies, Lizzie McGuire," said the fortune teller.  
  
Wait, now, how in the world does she know my last name, too? Either this woman was a true psychic or an amazing con artist.  
  
"Of course I'm a psychic, Lizzie McGuire! What do you think I am, chopped liver?" retorted the fortune teller.  
  
Wait a minute, did she just read my mind???? Lizzie was completely bewildered yet utterly fascinated by this strange woman. She just had to hear what she have to say about her "destiny."  
  
The fortune teller stared intently into her crystal ball, looking as if she could break the ball with her sheer will. After a minute had passed, the fortune teller started humming, as if she were in a trance. Lizzie and Miranda looked on, hypnotized by what they were seeing.  
  
Then suddenly, the fortune teller looked up from the crystal ball and looked straight through Lizzie's eyes and into her heart, and with a oddly monotone, possessed voice, the woman started to read Lizzie's fortune. "You Lizzie McGuire, will be going on a trip soon. You will have a choice. Go west, young woman!"  
  
Lizzie took in every word, absolutely fixated by what was transpiring.  
  
The fortune teller continued. "You have a Soul Spirit, searching for you. He is your destiny. He is your true love. He is.."  
  
Lizzie's eyes were wide open with anticipation. "yes? He is?" He is.what?"  
  
"He is named Adam."  
  
"Oh." said a disappointed Lizzie. Adam? Who's Adam? At least she didn't say it was Stewart, thought Lizzie, because Lizzie and Stewart had broken up several months ago. During the summer, Lizzie drove up to Connecticut to surprise Stewart at his school. She went there, only to walk into his house to find him in bed with another woman. Lizzie hadn't been the same since; she was still emotionally shaken up by Stewart's betrayal. Gordo had been right all long.  
  
Lizzie also was disappointed, because, well, she had half-expected, half- wished that the fortune teller had said Gordo's name.  
  
"When will I meet him, this Adam guy?" asked Lizzie.  
  
"SHHHH!! I'm concentrating!!"  
  
"Oh-oh, I'm sorry. Go-go ahead, keep, uh, doing whatever you're doing."  
  
The fortune teller continued. "Your true love is Adam. You will know it is him because he will say to you, "mouse is stuck on my hand."  
  
"Huuhhh?" wondered Lizzie. What in the world does that mean, mouse is stuck on my hand??? That's so unromantic! This is ridiculous, this isn't real. I just wasted Miranda's ten dollars, thought Lizzie.  
  
"Okay. That's all I have for you, Lizzie McGuire. Now, go!"  
  
With that said, Lizzie and Miranda left the gypsy fortune teller, confused and very dazed, not sure about what exactly had happened just a few moments ago.  
  
************************************************************  
  
Lizzie stared at the hotel room ceiling, running over and over again in her head what the fortune teller woman had told her: that her true love is named Adam; that he'll say to her, "mouse is stuck on my hand"; and that she was about to travel soon.  
  
The fortune teller had been right about the traveling part. A few days after the run in with the fortune teller, Lizzie had been given an option of doing an assignment either in San Francisco or in New York City. When told about this choice, Lizzie immediately thought about what the fortune teller had told her: go west! She chose the San Francisco assignment, even though she would've rather have gone to New York, just because, well, just because, what if the fortune teller was right? And that's why she was here, in a hotel in the heart of San Francisco, wondering about fortunes, destiny, a stuck mouse, true love, and of course, about Adam.  
  
************************************************************  
  
Author's note: Okay, this is chapter two of the story. Please read and review! Let me know what you think! Thanks! 


	3. Chapter Three

Author's Note: here's chapter three, from David's POV. And thank you all for you reviews!! I truly appreciate it, and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. I'm having lots of fun with it, and if you haven't figured it out by now, the story's inspired by romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally, Serendipity (of course), and The Shop Around the Corner (a classic film starring Jimmy Stewart).  
  
Please read and review, it really means much to me to see what you think about my evolving little story. I know how it's all going to end, but I'm still figuring out how to get there! Let me know, especially, what elements of the story that you really enjoyed, so I have a better sense of what resonates with the reader. Thanks!  
  
_____________________________________________________________________  
  
David entered his hotel room, set down his bags and immediately headed to the room desk. He set his laptop on the desk, turned it on, and then flopped into the desk chair. It was 12:30 a.m., but he still wanted to work through some ideas he had for his film. As producer, director, and screenwriter, he knew he had a monumental task ahead of him if he was going to succeed in bringing his vision to cinematic life.  
  
As he began writing down some ideas on the laptop word processor, he stopped to rub his eyes, and let out a long, loud yawn.  
  
Man, I'm really tired, thought David. But, I really need to get some ideas straight before I meet with the film crew tomorrow morning. I'll just rest my head for a sec, then I'll start writing again.  
  
David put his head next to the laptop, and he started to think about an unusual encounter he had a week ago while he was in Washington D.C. David had been in D.C. to visit his parents, who had moved there right after Gordon had graduated from high school. He was also there for some business meetings, trying to secure additional financing for his film.  
  
**************One Week Ago******************************************  
  
One Sunday afternoon, David was walking in a park, surrounded by memorials of Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and George Washington. He was walking by himself, deep in thought about his movie, and about his friend, Lizzie McGuire. He roamed around the Reflecting Pool, took a quick stroll in and out of the Lincoln Memorial, then found himself sitting on a bench, looking out on a field of kids playing soccer.  
  
He thought he was alone on the bench, but he was wrong. He turned to his right to see an elderly black man sitting next to him. He had dark shades on, a cane in his left hand, and he had on clothes that looked if they had been through many histories and many memories. The man smiled at David and said, "A lot on your mind, son?"  
  
"Uh, yeah, I guess you could say so." The man had a warm, generous smile, and for some inexplicable reason, David felt as if he had known this man all his life.  
  
"Looks like you need someone to do some talkin' with. Tell me what's on your mind, it'll do your soul some good."  
  
David looked at the man's smile, thinking that he reminded him of Ray Charles. What does he have to lose by talking to this guy, thought David.  
  
Why not?  
  
"Well, okay. I don't see the harm in talking with a complete stranger. I'm here in D.C., about to realize my life dream of making my own full length feature film, and the only thing I can think about is my best friend."  
  
"Ahhh, I see. It's a girl, isn't it?"  
  
"You got it, mister. She's this great girl, I've known her forever, but we got into this awful fight over the phone and I haven't talked to her since. I tried calling her, but I only got her voice mail. I asked her roommate, who's a good friend of mine as well, why she wouldn't talk to me and all Miranda would say to me is that Lizzie needed some time and space. Geez, women and their "space." David air-quoted "space," to accentuate his disdain for that term, especially since that word was keeping him away from his best friend.  
  
"Maybe Ms. McGuire does need some space. But, have you ever wondered why she needs some time away from you?"  
  
That's odd, thought David. How did this guy know Lizzie's last name? Did he mention it to him? He shook his head, realizing that he must have done so. He muttered silently in his head, *Gordo, you really need to get some sleep, you can't even remember what you said a few seconds ago.*  
  
"Well, I know why she's not talking to me. She's upset because I hate this guy she's been going out with for a while now. He's one of those slick, pseudo-charming, manipulative jerks who is going to end up really hurting Lizzie. I know it. But, she thinks a real friend should just support her in making a huge mistake with her life." David spoke the last sentence with a clear tinge of anger, resentment, sarcasm, and. . .jealousy.  
  
The man let out a hearty laugh. "Ahhh, so you're jealous!"  
  
Who is this guy? wondered David. The man was saying things that his friend Miranda would often say to him. How did he know what David was feeling in his heart?  
  
"Alright, yeah, you're right. If I'm truly honest with myself, I know I hate Lizzie's boyfriend just because he's *Lizzie's* boyfriend. Gawd I hate that guy!!"  
  
"Well, I know your story, young man, and I know what you're going through. Would you like a piece of advice from someone who's been through this road many a times?"  
  
Look, I already know what you're going to say. You're going to tell me that I should follow my heart, tell Lizzie how I really feel about her, not worry about losing her friendship, and that we're right for each other."  
  
"No, son."  
  
"No?"  
  
"Nope. What I was going to say is, I think your friend Ms. McGuire is right. A good friend would support her in her decisions. It's her life, it's her destiny to make her own mistakes."  
  
"You've got to be kidding me!! I love that woman, mister, with all of my heart, ever since I can remember, and you're telling me I should sit back, do nothing, and let her get hurt?"  
  
"That's exactly what I'm telling you, son. It's time for you to let go."  
  
"No, no, I can't accept that."  
  
"I didn't say doing the right thing would be easy."  
  
"What if I'm right, though? What if this guy ends up hurting Lizzie?"  
  
"Then you'll be there for her when she needs someone to support her and comfort her. That's what friends do. And that's what you would do if you loved someone."  
  
David couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was secretly hoping for some encouragement to act on his feelings for Lizzie, but this man was telling him everything his heart didn't want to hear. Yet, what the man said rang so. . .true.  
  
"I know what I'm saying must be hard for you to listen to, but, don't you worry, son, have faith in the unknown, have faith in life. There's a reason, a time, for everything, you just don't know it yet. You'll know what to do when the time is right."  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Well, I should be going back home. Thanks for listening to me, mister. I really appreciate it. You were right, as hard it was to hear what you had to say, I feel like I have much more clarity now about me and Lizzie." David smiled at the man, who responded with a wide, mischievous grin.  
  
:"You don't know the half of it, son. There's plenty of surprises and wonders in store for you, young man."  
  
"ummm. . . great?!?!"  
  
"One thing before you go, son."  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Do you believe in destiny?"  
  
What kind of question is that? "Uh, I guess. Maybe. No. Not really. Sort of."  
  
"Well, I do. And I know your destiny, son."  
  
"You do?" This guy must be senile, thought David. A really nice guy, but senile, nonetheless.  
  
"And for you to fulfill one glorious part of your destiny, there's one thing you need to know."  
  
"Uhhh, oh-kay. And that is?"  
  
"Pancakes with huckleberry syrup."  
  
"Uhhh, are you feeling okay, mister?" What was thing guy talking about??? And what in the world is huckleberry syrup? He had never heard of it before.  
  
"Pancakes with huckleberry syrup. That's all you need to know, son."  
  
"Okay then! I've really got to go! Thanks for the chat, mister! I really mean it." David got up, shook the man's hand, and walked away from the park bench.  
  
As he was walking away, he heard the man behind his back yell to him, "Take good care of yourself, David Gordon. And remember, pancakes and huckleberry syrup."  
  
David stopped dead in his tracks. Now I *know* I hadn't told the guy my name. What in the world was going on, David wondered? David whirled around, saw the park bench that he had just been sitting on, and saw that it was empty. There was no sight of the man he had been talking to for the last half-hour. He looked all around the park. No elderly black gentlemen as far as the naked eye could see. Where did the guy disappear to? Did he just imagine everything?  
  
**********************************************************  
  
David awoke from his semi-conscious nap. He looked at the clock; it read 1:00 a.m.  
  
He took his head off the desk, shook his head, yawned, and prepared to start writing again. As he stared into his laptop computer screen, he suddenly realized how hungry he was. He had flown in from D.C., and he had nothing to eat all day but a bagle with cream cheese and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.  
  
He took out the hotel room service menu, and started to flip through its pages. He hoped that they were still delivering room service. He read the menu and saw that the hotel had 24 hour room service, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner around the clock. Great!  
  
David pored through the menu, looking over ever single item. David *loved* food, and he loved nothing more than to browse a menu to see all of his culinary options.  
  
Sushi? Filet mignon? Steak and eggs? What would he have this night, David wondered. Maybe some beef tartar? Or some lamb curry? Or maybe a good ol' fashion hamburger, with curly fries, of course.  
  
. . .Or, or, just maybe, just maybe, he'll have some pancakes with huckleberry syrup. David's jaw dropped as he saw a special item on the hotel menu:  
  
***The menu read, *Our Hotel Speciality: We serve a steaming short-stack of fluffy buttermilk pancakes along with our special, award winning, home- made, one of a kind, huckleberry syrup. A unique San Francisco treat! $7.95.***  
  
He remembered very well the last words spoken to him by the old man on the park bench. Pancakes and huckleberry syrup! David hadn't believed in destiny and fate before, but now he was starting to reconsider his old beliefs.  
  
The menu said that the hotel served breakfast 24 hours a day. David, in a state of semi-shock, slowly picked up the phone, dialed room service, and ordered a plate of pancakes with huckleberry syrup. 


	4. Chapter Four

Author's Note: Thanks again for the reviews! I really, really appreciate them.  
  
This chapter is from Lizzie's point of view. Hope you enjoy, and please review and let me know what you think! This chapter is still mostly set- up, but the plot is soon about to thicken! ______________________________________________________________________  
  
Snap out of it, McGuire! You're going to drive yourself insane thinking about what that fortune teller said to you!  
  
Lizzie stood up from her bed, took hold of her head with both hands, let out a deep yawn, and then got up to walk over to the bathroom. Might as well get ready to go to bed, thought Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie peered into the darkened bathroom, fumbled for the light switch, found it, and flipped it on. The light went on for one moment, then the light got increasingly brighter and brighter, and then, "POP!" The lightbulb blew itself out.  
  
"Yeeoww!!" yelped a startled Lizzie. The bathroom suddenly was immersed in darkness once more. Lizzie stood motionless for awhile, staring blankly into the pitch black room, then walked back to the hotel desk, picked up the phone and called the front desk.  
  
The phone picked up. "The Hilton Sheraton. What may I do for you, Ms. McGuire?"  
  
"The lightbulb just went out in the bathroom. Could you have someone come up and change the light?"  
  
"I apologize for the inconvenience, Ms. McGuire. I'll have Adam the bellhop come up right away and change the bulb for you."  
  
Did the front desk guy say "Adam" was coming up? Lizzie went into a foggy daze.  
  
"uh, uh, yeah, um, thanks. Have a, um, nice day."  
  
"Thank you, Ms. McGuire. Goodbye."  
  
Have a nice day?!? Lizzie slapped her forehead with her palm. Now *that* was a dumb thing to say in the middle of the night. Lizzie put down the phone and started walking around frantically around the hotel room as her head swirled with thoughts coming from all directions:  
  
Is this the guy? Is this the guy? Is this the guy the fortune teller told me about?? A bellhop at a hotel? I'm going to fall in love and marry and have three kids named Susanna, David, and Miranda and live in a San Francisco suburb with a bellhop? Why couldn't Adam be a writer or a poet or an artist. . . waitaminute. . . I wonder how I look? I've got to look good for my future bellhop husband. I must be a mess from the plane trip. Yaaahhh!! Okay, okay, calm down Lizzie, take deep breaths, get a grip, get a grip. What should I do? What should I do? I know, I know, I need to go the bathroom and fix up my make up. Oh wait, damn it, I can't go in the bathroom cause of that stupid lightbulb!. Urgh. *sigh* but I can't be too mad at the lightbulb since it's going to be the reason for me meeting my future husband. It'll make a great story for our kids one day..OKAY Lizzie, snap out of it, you can daydream about the next 20 years of your life later, you've got to get ready, Adam's going to be coming up soon!  
  
"RIIINNNNGGG!!" "Bellhop!"  
  
Omigosh omigosh omigosh, Adam's here! Okay, Lizzie, you're just going to have to go with the way you are. This is it. Lizzie straightened out her blouse and jeans with her hands, then slowly walked to the door with deep anticipation. She slowly opened the door, holding her breath.  
  
Lizzie said, "Hi-" and expected to see a handsome, boyish, face, only to see a man's rounded stomach and beltbuckle. "-Adam?"  
  
"Up here, Ms. McGuire," intoned a loud, booming voice, a voice tinged with an eastern european accent.  
  
Lizzie slowly averted her eyes upwards to see the tallest man she had ever seen in her entire life. Adam turned out to be a seven foot tall, bald, middle-aged, Ukranian bellhop. Lizzie thought, uh, mom once said great boys came in odd packages, but now this takes the cake!  
  
"Oh. My. You sure are."  
  
"Tall, yes. And no, I don't play basketball. I'm here to change your lightbulb, Ms. McGuire."  
  
"Oh sure, come on it." Lizzie let Adam in, who had to duck underneath the doorway to come inside. The bellhop then went straight into the bathroom, began to undo the fixture so that he could change the light. Lizzie stood just outside, watching the very large man do his job.  
  
Lizzie kept wondering, is this Adam? No, way, it can't be. But, but, well. I have to be sure.  
  
"Uh, Adam? May I ask you a question?"  
  
"Sure, Ms. McGuire."  
  
"Ummm, do you know anything about a mouse being stuck on your hand?"  
  
"Sorry, no, Ms. McGuire."  
  
"Oh." Lizzie was a little disappointed, but mostly relieved. Okay, this isn't the guy. I am not going to end up being Mrs. Lizzie SevenFoottallUkranianBellhopGuy. Whew.  
  
"Ms. McGuire, when you answered the door, it's like you were expecting to see someone you knew."  
  
"Well, yeah-it's a long story."  
  
"Well, I don't have much to do this time of night, and I'm about to go on a break and I like chatting with our patrons. They always have interesting stories to tell. So, I've got time for a story. . . There! All fixed."  
  
Lizzie thought to herself, he seems like a really nice man, and I'm dying to tell someone my fortune teller story. "Okay, if you really want to know. It all happened when my friend Miranda and I were walking in Harvard Square. . . . And Lizzie immediately proceeded to tell her story about her encounter with the fortune teller in her excited, mile-a-minute voice. The bellhop just looked on and listened on with a paternal affection for the young woman.  
  
As she finished her story, "And so when the front desk told me Adam the bellhop was coming up to fix the lightbulb, I thought who knows maybe my Adam would be you."  
  
"That's a fascinating story, Ms. McGuire, but sadly, I'm very happily married to my wife. 25 years next week, in fact."  
  
"Congratulations! Yeah, I pretty much figured out you weren't Adam. My Adam, I mean. So, what do you think? Am I being crazy for believing in this crazy fortune telling stuff?"  
  
"Perhaps. What I do know for certain is that love happens under unusual circumstances. My wife and I, I met her as a teenager in the Ukraines, when I accidently fell down an empty watering well outside of my village. Anyway, I was trapped down a 10 foot well and my arm was broken. But, fortunately, my future wife happened to be walking by, heard my shouts for help, and called for help. What I thought was one of the worst things to happen to me turned out to be the best thing in my life."  
  
"That's sweet!"  
  
"The crazy thing is, I had run into an odd little homeless beggar on the street the day before. I gave him some money, and in thanks, he said he was a psychic and he told me that my destiny was inside a watering well. That's why I fell down, because I listened to the beggar and actually tried to see if my destiny was inside a watering hole!"  
  
"That's really interesting. Do you think that beggar really knew your destiny?" Lizzie was definitely intrigued by the man' story.  
  
"Well, the way I think about it, we all have our personal destinies, but, somewhere along the road, we sometimes need a little help to get us on the path we were always meant to take."  
  
"That's beautiful."  
  
"Anyway, I should be going now, Ms. McGuire. It was a pleasure talking with you. Please enjoy your stay here, and if I can be of any further service, please just let the front desk know. Good night. And good luck." The bellhop gave a knowing wink to Lizzie, and walked away.  
  
Lizzie let the door close behind her and went to her bed. She wasn't sleepy anymore, as what just had transpired with her and the bellhop had her alert and excitable.  
  
Can't sleep, what should I do now? Lizzie thought about watching some t.v., but instead, she went to the room desk and turned on her laptop computer. She plugged the modem into the dataport, and waited to get online.  
  
Lizzie had recently come up with an idea for her first romance novel. . .a love story where two lovers meet online in a chatroom. To help herself write her story, Lizzie had been doing research by going into various chatrooms and asking chatters about relationships they had developed through the internet. She just started doing the research last week, and wanted to keep researching for a few additional weeks. She thought, I'm up now, why not do some research on my soon to be best selling romance novel?  
  
Lizzie finally got online, and she entered one of the Yoohoo.com chatrooms. It was a chatroom that she, Miranda, Gordo and other Hillridge High students had used after they graduated from high school, as a way to keep in touch. Lizzie used the chatroom frequently during her freshman year at Boston University, but she rarely went there since she graduated from college. For some reason, though, on this night, she felt compelled to check this chatroom out once more. It had been almost a year since she last used this chatroom.  
  
Lizzie entered the chatroom under her recently created anonymous username "Hilary Duff." When she was conducting research, she always used her Hilary Duff username, and made sure not to reveal personal information about herself to the other chatters. No one knew about her pseudonym, not even Miranda and Gordo. Her plan was to reveal her pen name only after she got her first novel published.  
  
When she was finally logged in, Lizzie quickly scanned to see who was there. There were about 10 usernames, and she didn't recognize anyone. She typed in hello, and immediately began asking questions to the chatters: have you dated someone online? What happened? What was it like when you first met him/her in real life? How did things turn out?  
  
The chatters weren't very open to Lizzie's questions, and most of them were typing inane things and cheesy pick up lines which just made Lizzie roll her eyes. I'm going to seriously snap the next time HotDude2000 asks "Age/Sex/Location" again, thought an exasperated Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie was about to give up, log off, and read a book to help her fall asleep. But just as she was about to exit the chatroom, a new chatter entered the chatroom: Adam Gerbalm.  
  
Lizzie stared at her screen, fixated on the username staring back at her. Adam? Could this be. . .? My Adam?  
  
A heavy sinking feeling of deep recognition began to fill up her inside of her. It's him, she whispered softly to herself. 


	5. Chapter Five

Lizzie stared intently into her computer screen, paying special attention to Adam Gerbalm. She didn't say anything, she just observed, wanting to see what this Adam person was like.  
  
Adam, like other chatters who first enter a chatroom, said hello to the chatters already there and gave out general information about himself: male, age 23, just out of college. So far, so good, thought Lizzie.  
  
Just please don't start coming out with cheesy pick-up lines, thought Lizzie.  
  
Adam did no such thing; instead, he started asking the other chatters some probing questions about their experiences with chatrooms. He fired off questions left and right: so, how long have you all been using chatrooms? What do you enjoy about chatting online with people you have never met before? Do you sometimes find interacting with people in chatrooms preferable to interacting with people in real life? Have you established friendships and relationships with people you've met in chatrooms?  
  
Wow, thought Lizzie, thoroughly impressed. This Adam guy is *smart.* It's all still good.  
  
The other chatters responded to Adam's question the way that they responded to Lizzie's questions: with not much enthusiasm, and with a lot of inane answers. Lizzie rolled her eyes for Adam.  
  
Okay, it's time that I started actually chatting with Adam, can't put off destiny or fate any longer, thought Lizzie, still not quite sure what to believe. Lizzie thought hard, and then typed, "Hi, Adam. I must say, I'm very impressed with your questions." Lizzie nervously waited for a response.  
  
Adam: hi Hilary Duff. Thanks for the compliment. So, do you hang out in chatrooms frequently?  
  
Hilary: Well, sort of. Let's just say I have a special, secret reason for visiting chatrooms.  
  
Adam: Oh? Tell me.  
  
Hilary: Uh, no, I can't! It's a secret! If I told you it wouldn't be a secret anymore, now would it?  
  
Adam: Oh, I see. Well, looks like I'm going to have to resort to my abundant supply of patented spy techniques to pry your secret from you! : )  
  
Oh, a smiley face! That's cute, thought Hilary. Hilary adored smiley face emoticons, and especially liked it when guys typed them, as long as they didn't overdo them. He also does have a way with words. And, more importantly, thought Lizzie, he's starting to flirt with me! Now, all he has to say is "mouse stuck on hand," and then she would know for certain that this was *her* Adam.  
  
Hilary: Oh, you think you're going to charm me into telling you my little secret, do you?  
  
Adam: Oh, believe me, Hilary, I have my ways, I have my ways. My parents didn't spend $100,000 for me to go college for nothing! : )  
  
Lizzie giggled to herself. A funny, quirky answer. She liked it. Still all good, thought a captivated Lizzie. Wonder what he looks like? Is he tall, dark, and handsome? Does he have blue eyes or brown eyes? Wonder what he does for a living? Where does he live? And most importantly, is he single? Lizzie was dying to know, but she didn't want to ask those questions quite yet.  
  
Hilary and Adam continued on with their flirtatious banter. Although a few other chatters were also still in the chatroom, Hilary and Adam acted as if they were the only ones there.  
  
Hilary: so, Adam, I'd like to ask you something. It's for research for a project I'm working on.  
  
Adam: oh, what project? What do you do, Hilary?  
  
Lizzie was hesitant to give out her personal information just quite yet.  
  
Hilary: Hey, it's a secret! : )  
  
Adam: Ah, another secret! You're making my job of charming secrets out of you even harder!  
  
Hilary: lol. Yeah, well, sue me, I'm a girl, that's what girls do.  
  
Adam: lol! You're absolutely right about that one! Okay, I give. . .ask me your question.  
  
Hilary: So, have you ever gone out with someone you met online? In a romantic way? And are you still with her right now?  
  
Please say no, please say no, please say no!  
  
There was no immediate response from Adam. After a few more moments had passed, Adam finally answered.  
  
Adam: The answer to your questions would be no, no, and no.  
  
Lizzie's eyes lit up with excited relief! Great answers, thought Lizzie.  
  
Adam: But. . .  
  
Uh, oh. What did he mean, "but?"  
  
Hilary: But, what Adam?  
  
Lizzie suddenly received a private message from Adam. She accepted it and read it with curious anticipation. The message read, "Hi Hilary. I'm enjoying talking with you; mind if we continue our conversation in private? I'm getting pretty annoyed having to chat with HotDude2000 in the same chatroom." Lizzie responded in the affirmative, and the couple began to chat in private.  
  
Adam: Ahh, much better. Anyway, what I wanted to tell you is that, if I have to be honest, Hilary, the reason why I haven't met a girl online is that I've been in love with this girl for as long as I can remember.  
  
Lizzie's heart sank. He's in love with some girl? Wait, if he loves some other girl, than how in the world can he be my true love?  
  
Hilary: "Oh? You are?" Lizzie typed the last response with little real enthusiasm.  
  
Adam: I don't know why I'm telling you this, Hilary, because it's really dumb to tell this wonderful girl I'm chatting with right now that I'm in love with some other girl, especially since she literally hates my guts right now and won't even speak to me.  
  
Oh, he thinks I'm sweet! Lizzie started to feel a tenderness well up in her heart. There was something about the poignant honesty in what Adam said that touched Lizzie deeply. She also suddenly began to think about her estranged best friend, Gordo, a friend that she has refused to speak with for the past six months. Gordo, whispered Lizzie, I'm sorry. . .  
  
Adam continued: But, Hilary, there's something about you that makes me want to open up my heart to you. It doesn't make any sense, I know, since I've just met you, and still, I haven't even really really met you. But, some strange force is making me tell you things that I usually keep to myself, things I don't even tell my best friends. Especially to my best friend. Am I making any sense?  
  
Adam's heartfelt words broke Lizzie's thoughts about Gordo, and she quickly began to type her response.  
  
Hilary: you're making perfect sense, Adam. And you're being awfully sweet.  
  
Oh well, even if this Adam wasn't her "Adam," he still seems like a really great guy, and well, who knows, maybe they could become good friends. He seems so familiar, though, Lizzie kept thinking.  
  
Adam: Thanks, Hilary. You're very sweet, too, for listening to me to ramble on about my unrequited love.  
  
Hilary: I've got another question for you, Adam.  
  
Adam: Sure, ask away.  
  
Hilary: do you believe in destiny?  
  
Adam: That's really funny you should ask, because I've had some strange things happen to me lately that's made me start to believe that, maybe, just maybe, there's a life out there, waiting for us to take it by the hand and to make it our own.  
  
Hilary: that was beautiful, so poetic.  
  
Adam: Thanks. I don't really consider myself a poetic guy, but I guess the warmth and tenderness I'm feeling from you is bringing out the latent poet in me. : ) What about you? Do you believe in destiny?  
  
Lizzie blushed upon reading Adam's compliment. She was starting to feel . . .something towards Adam. Get a grip on yourself, McGuire, this is insane! For one thing, you don't even really know this guy, he could turn out to be a 700 pound schizophrenic car thief, and for pete's sake, he's in love with some other girl! Stop feeling whatever you're feeling, right now! ordered Lizzie to herself. Nope, not working, sighed Lizzie. Still feeling. . . .*something* towards Adam. Lizzie composed herself and began to type her response.  
  
Hilary: well, it's funny, but I've met some unusual people lately, too, who've made me think a lot about destiny and fortunes. But, I still don't know. . . So, I guess the answer is, maybe. Anyway, do you mind telling me what happened between you and the girl you're in love with?  
  
Adam: I'm dying to, actually, if you're willing to listen.  
  
Hilary: of course I am.  
  
Adam: okay. Well, I've known this girl for almost all my life. We grew up together, went to elementary, middle school, and high school together.  
  
Oh really? Thought Lizzie. Sounds a lot like the friendship that she has had with Gordo.  
  
Adam: She's my best, my closest, my most cherished friend. But, well, it got complicated when I started to fall in love with her in the 7th grade.  
  
He sounds so much like Gordo! Except that Gordo never loved me that way, thought Lizzie. She knew he had a crush on her in middle school, and they kissed once, in Rome, but things never developed between them, as Gordo never expressed any real feelings for her. So, she just assumed that Gordo's crush was just a crush, and nothing more, and they just remained platonic friends throughout high school and college.  
  
Hilary: She sounds like a great girl.  
  
Adam: She is, she truly is. She, oh wait, brb. Don't go anywhere, k? : )  
  
Hilary: I won't!  
  
Lizzie smiled to herself. She really liked Adam. She could feel a beautiful soul in his words. His words entranced her, enticed her, and enwrapped her in a delightful swirl of joyous feelings and sensations. She could almost start to picture him in her mind, and that picture, although still very fuzzy, was wonderfully new and familiar all at once. And it didn't matter to her at all that Adam was in love with someone else, because at this precise moment, all she cared about was that she was with him and connecting with him now, and more importantly, she could envision developing a deep friendship with this man. So, Adam didn't have to worry in the least bit. . . she was most definitely not going anywhere.  
  
A few minutes passed, and Adam still had not returned to the chatroom. Lizzie began to worry. . . had he disconnected? Was he gone? Would she ever be able to meet him in real life? As she was about to start a worrying frenzy, Adam finally responded. What she read made her jaw drop. . .  
  
Adam: mouse stuck on hand. brb. 


	6. Chapter Six

Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews! I'm really glad you're all enjoying the story. Okay, this chapter is from Gordo's POV; it picks up right after he had ordered his pancakes from room service. Please read and review!  
  
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"Your order of pancakes with huckleberry syrup should be there in about 30 to 45 minutes. Thank you, Mr. Gordon."  
  
"Thanks." David hung up the phone and jumped back onto his bed. Um, okay, so I ordered those pancakes based on what the man in the park told me. Now what? Do I just wait to see what happens? How in the world are pancakes supposed to help me meet my destiny? wondered David.  
  
David shuffled restlessly on his bed. He picked up the television remote and started flipping channels. There was nothing on that captured his imagination, so David contemplated doing some more work before his food arrived. As he was about get off the bed and return to his desk, David was suddenly hit with an intense wave of sleepiness as jet lag had finally caught up with him. Oh-kay, maybe I won't do some more work right now. . . I'll just rest my eyes for a bit while I wait for my food to come. With that last thought, David quickly fell into a cozy slumber . . . and he began to dream.  
  
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In his dream, David found himself on the top of Mount Kileaua, a dormant volcano on the island of Maui. The mountain top was covered with deep layers of fresh snow, yet David was dressed only in a t-shirt, gym shorts, and sandals, skating on the snow covered mountain top. David wandered over to the edges of the mountain, peered out to see in the far distance the sparkling blue ocean gently caressing the golden beach shoreline. What a breathtaking sight, whistled David.  
  
David's communion with nature abruptly came to an end when a loud, booming voice from behind yelled, "David Gordon, do you think you're ready?"  
  
David flipped around to see a gigantic sea turtle talking to him. The turtle was about the size of an elephant, and it was wearing bifocals and was vigorously puffing on a pipe.  
  
David replied, "What are you talking about? Ready for what?" David looked straight into the turtle's eyes, then added, "Okay, this is the umpteenth dream I've had with weird creatures like you in it. Last night, I dreamt about a talking cricket. The other night it was a talking donut. Why can't I have normal dreams with beautiful women like Natalie Portman in them, or with Grace Kelly, or . . .with . . ."  
  
"Lizzie McGuire, I know. Well, you ain't chop liver either, Gordo. Don't you think I'd rather be in the dreams of people like Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorcese, or George Lucas?"  
  
"Touche. Good point."  
  
"Thanks. And please, call me Sigmund. Anyway, let's get back to my question. Gordo, do you think you're ready? And don't try to act as if you don't know what I'm talking about."  
  
"Uh- well, I guess so. I think. Yes. Or, well . . .maybe," stammered David.  
  
Sigmund let out a disappointed sigh, then said, "I thought so, I thought so. You're not ready, you've never been ready. And that's why you are going to lose her, my dear boy."  
  
A somber David replied, "I . . . I know. I know I don't belong with Lizzie. Whenever I'm with her, all I can think about is how beautiful she is, about what a beautiful, gentle soul she has, and then I look at myself, and think, she doesn't belong with someone like me."  
  
"You mean a height-challenged, overly-cerebral, ordinary looking guy like yourself?"  
  
"Yeah." David stared down and watched his left foot busily shuffle the snow underneath his feet.  
  
"You're just not good enough for her, right, Gordo? That's what you believe?" David nodded slowly in painful recognition of the truth.  
  
"Well, Gordo, if that's what you believe, if you believe that you just don't have what it takes to be with Lizzie, then you *truly* are not good enough for her," said Sigmund, with a trace of frustration in his voice. Then, he was gone. . .  
  
David found himself disappearing from the volcanic mountaintop as well, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in the middle of Central Park in New York City, on a crisp Autumn day. He was dressed in his bar mitzvah clothes, carrying the Torah in one hand, and a single long stemmed red rose with his other hand.  
  
He looked up to see the sky raining autumnal leaves. .. the wind was swirling around, picking up a sea of crimson, ruby-red, rusty orange, and deep brown leaves and flinging them across the sky. David could only stare in awe. This was the most vivid dream he ever had. . .he could smell the fragrant colors emanating from the leaves, he could feel the cozy chill of the November air on his face and skin, he could hear every single leaf rustling, crinkling and laughing in joyous celebration.  
  
David then saw a brilliant flash of blue light, and the next thing he knew, Lizzie was there, standing in front of him, in a flowing white dress, with her hair up, looking intently back at David, with a soft, beckoning smile on her face. She never looked more radiant and beautiful, gasped David. He found himself slowly approaching her, until he was within a breath of touching her. He looked at the rose in his right hand, lifted it up and handed it to Lizzie. Lizzie took it, gently breathed in its rosy fragrance, and said to David in a soft, angelic voice, "I love it, Gordo. Thank you."  
  
"You're welcome, Lizzie," answered David, blushing madly.  
  
"And Gordo?"  
  
"Yes, Lizzie?"  
  
"Always remember this. . .you are good enough, you've always been good enough, and you will always be good enough, Gordo, because you are, well, *you,*" whispered Lizzie.  
  
David smiled and closed his eyes, taking in all of Lizzie's words. They were magic to his ears. David leaned closer into Lizzie, gently placed his hands on her hips, and leaned into her face to kiss her. "Lizzie, I just want to say something I've been meaning to say for as long as I can remember. . . Lizzie, I lo-"  
  
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RIIIINNNNNGGGGG!!!! RIINNNGGGGG!!!!  
  
David leaped up from his slumber, startled awake by the telephone. Dazed and confused, David groggily searched for the phone and answered it. "He- hello?"  
  
"Mr. Gordon, this is room service. I just wanted to inform you that we are running a bit behind as we have just gotten in a tour group from Japan who have not eaten all day, and they have us extremely busy at this moment. Your order may take an additional half-hour. I apologize for the inconvenience, and your order will be on the house tonight."  
  
"Okay, thanks." David hung up the phone and looked at the clock. It was 1:30 a.m. He had been sleeping, and dreaming, for about a half-hour. The dream was still weighing on his heart and mind, and he muttered some epithets at room service for calling him and waking him up. It was the most wonderful dream he had ever had, and he hadn't want it to end. But, now, he was wide-awake, and wondering what he should do with himself.  
  
He grabbed a complimentary magazine from the desk and began to flip through it. On the cover was the founder of YooHoo.Com, and inside was an article on the founder talking about the popularity of YooHoo chatrooms. He took the magazine back to his bed, then found the t.v. remote and began channel surfing.  
  
As he flipped through several channels, he began to notice that on each channel, there was something about chatrooms. On Oprah, the topic of the show was on relationships developed in online chatrooms. On ESPN, a football player was being interviewed and was telling the host that his favorite hobby was chatting in chatrooms with fans. On HBO, they were showing "You've Got Mail," a romantic comedy in which Tom Hanks' character meets Meg Ryan's character online. Finally, on ABC, he saw a commercial encouraging people to chat in Yoohoo chatrooms. The owner of Yoohoo.com, Larry Lee, was in the commercial, and in the last scene, he stared directly to the audience, and said with a wink and a smile, "Don't *you* want to be chatting in a yoohoo chatroom right now, Gordo?"  
  
Wha? Did the guy on t.v. just mentioned my name???? Uh, no, Gordo, he didn't, you're just extremely tired and starting to imagine things. But. . . well, while I'm waiting for my food, why not log on? David still wanted to do further research on chatroom culture for his film.  
  
David wandered to his desk and re-started his laptop. As he was waiting for his computer to connect to the internet, he dug out from his pants pocket a little plastic figurine and placed it next to his laptop. It was a figurine that Lizzie had given to him when they were in the fourth grade, which he has carried around with him ever since. He always had it in his coat or pants pocket; he considered it his good luck charm, and something to remind him of Lizzie whenever they were apart.  
  
David was finally online, and once there, he immediately logged onto yoohoo.com. He had gotten the hint; the universe was clearly telling him to "yoohoo!" as the commercials would say. After some thought, he decided to enter the chatroom that he, Lizzie, and Miranda and other Hilridge High students frequented after they had graduated from high school. He hadn't used this chatroom in six months, ever since he and Lizzie had the fight. But, even though he knew Lizzie hadn't used the chatroom in a while either, he was sorely missing Lizzie, especially after having had his dream, and he logged into the chatroom with a faint hope that Lizzie just might be there.  
  
He logged in his username and entered the chatroom. He quickly glanced over the chatroom username list, and did not see any of Lizzie's usernames or any other familiar username. David was disappointed, but he knew that there was very little chance of running into Lizzie. So, he tried to get Lizzie off his mind, quickly typed in hello and began to ask the other chatters questions about their use of chatrooms.  
  
David typically used his username DavidGordo when he chatted, but, because he was doing research, he wanted to remain anonymous, so he logged in with a username that he had just created. The username . . .Adam Gerbalm. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews! This is a short chapter, but I wanted to get it up since I haven't updated it in awhile. This chapter explains the meaning of "mouse stuck on hand." And you all were right. . . Gordo was Adam Gerbalm all along!  
  
This chapter continues from David's point of view, and then switches to Lizzie's POV. Please read and review!  
  
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David entered the chatroom as "Adam Gerbalm." He created the username as an homage to his favorite uncle, Adam Lamberg. As a small child, his uncle often would take him to baseball games at Dodger stadium, which he absolutely loved, and so he only had the fondest memories of being with his uncle Adam. When he decided a few weeks ago to use his uncle's name as his username, he scrambled the letters of his uncle's last name to protect his uncle's privacy, and thus, Adam Gerbalm was born.  
  
As soon as he entered the chatroom, David felt like leaving immediately. The chatters were not being very responsive to his questions, and he was also getting very annoyed by HotDude2000's incessantly ridiculous posts.  
  
David was about to log off when a user named "Hilary Duff" asked him a question. He responded, and from that moment, he felt an instant connection with Hilary Duff. It was odd, but as they began chatting, he felt a rapport with her that reminded him very much of the connection he shared with Lizzie. He felt himself instantly at ease with her, even though he had no idea what she looked like or what she was really like in real life. He felt an incredibly urge to flirt with Hilary, as if a mysterious force was instilling him with a confidence that he lacked in his normal interactions with women. He normally had a difficult time expressing his feelings for women that he was attracted to. He knew his shyness with women stemmed from an intense fear of rejection, an intense fear of having his feelings un-reciprocated.  
  
As he kept chatting with Hilary Duff, he began to feel himself increasingly attracted to her. This is really weird, thought David, I'm starting to feel things for some strange woman that I only know through her words. . . it doesn't make any sense. But. . . there's just something about her that stirs my heart, just like the way Lizzie stirs my heart. . .  
  
David closed his eyes to try to sort out his confusion . . .he was finding himself intrigued and attracted to Hilary Duff, yet, oddly, at the same time, he was finding himself thinking about and missing his friend Lizzie, wondering where she was, wanting nothing more than to hear her voice, to see her soulful eyes, and to feel her beautiful smile. Why, when I'm starting to connect with a sweet, charming woman, why can't I but help think about Lizzie?  
  
What was worse, David found himself telling Hilary about his feelings for Lizzie, about how he has loved her since elementary school, about the stupid fight they had six months ago. This is stupid, this is stupid, Gordo, what are you doing? You don't tell a woman you're attracted to how much you're in love with someone else!!  
  
But, David couldn't help it. . . he just found himself pouring his heart out to Hilary, telling her about his unrequited love for his best friend. He didn't tell her Lizzie's real name, though, because he was very careful about protecting the privacy of his friends.  
  
As he was becoming more and more immersed with his online conversation with Hilary, he suddenly found himself asking Hilary if she would talk with him privately, via instant messaging. It was as if he were possessed by a spirit, a spirit that was forcing David to tap into the untapped confidence that he always had in him. Hilary was definitely bringing out a part of him that had long been dormant within. It was as if he were undergoing a transformation . . .he felt himself starting to become the person he was always wanted to be. . .  
  
As he continued to chat with Hilary, he suddenly heard a knocking at his hotel room door. This must be room service, thought David. He told Hilary that he would be right back, then picked himself up and answered the door. Room service had brought up his pancakes with huckleberry syrup, on the house. David took the tray of food and set it down on his desk. He suddenly realized how hungry he was. He still wanted to keep chatting with Hilary, so he figured he'd eat and chat at the same time.  
  
As he was about to pour the huckleberry syrup over his pancakes, David first picked up his little figurine, which was resting next to his laptop, and brought it close to his eyes. It was a little ritual that he has performed every once in a while, whenever he was especially missing Lizzie .. . he would take the little mouse, stare into its tiny, deep blue eyes, reminisce about Lizzie, and then return it back into his pants pocket.  
  
The little figurine was a plastic mouse, a toy that Lizzie had given to him when they were in the fourth grade. They were at the school's annual carnival, and Lizzie, out of the blue, told Gordo, "Gordo, I like you. I want to give you this."  
  
After handing the mouse to Gordo, Lizzie leaned over and kissed Gordo on the cheek. "You're my best friend, Gordo."  
  
Gordo blushed, and returned Lizzie's kiss with a kiss of his own, planted square on her rosy cheeks. "Me, too, Lizzie. You're my best friend. I'm gonna keep this forever." With that, the two friends took each other's hand and walked around the carnival grounds, content with the youthful joy of being with one's best friend.  
  
As David remembered the day that Lizzie had given him the little mouse figurine, he picked it up to put it back in his pants pocket. But, just as soon as he had picked up the mouse, he was overwhelmed with a sudden, out of the blue desire to sneeze, and when he did, he lost hold of the mouse and it fell into the huckleberry syrup container.  
  
Startled to see his mouse starting to drown in huckleberry sauce, David, without thinking, instinctively grabbed the container, shoved his hand inside, and grabbed the mouse with his right hand.  
  
Yeaooww!! That's hot! yelped David.  
  
He was able to save the figurine from drowning, but now, the little mouse was firmly on his hand, as the sticky syrup had it practically glued to his palm. What was I thinking? thought David. He had buried his hand in the huckleberry sauce to "save' the mouse Lizzie had given him, as if the "life" of his mouse depended on it.  
  
David was about to head to the bathroom to clean his hands, when he realized that he been keeping Hilary waiting for an inordinate amount of time. With his one clean hand, he slowly typed, "mouse stuck on hand. Brb." Then he headed towards the bathroom to clean his hand, and to "unstuck" his little mouse. As he was washing his hands, all he could do was think about how foolish he felt, because, for a brief moment, he actually was starting to believe in the old man's prophecy. Great, I order pancakes with huckleberry syrup hoping to fulfill my destiny, and I just end up with my hand covered with syrup. Well, at least I can tell Hilary about it. . . it'll be a good laugh for her.  
  
When David had cleaned his hands and had gotten the syrup off of his mouse, he returned to his computer and began to tell Hilary what had just happened to him.  
  
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Lizzie read Adam explain to her why he had typed "mouse stuck on hand," and she slowly began to realize the truth. . .. Adam was *Gordo*. When he told her that his best friend had given the little mouse figurine in fourth grade, she was instantly flooded with memories of that bright, sunny day in fourth grade, when she was with Gordo at her school carnival. A few weeks before that day, she had started to develop a crush on her friend, and at the carnival, she wanted nothing more than to show him how she felt about him. She remembered in vivid, colorful detail the moment she gave Gordo the little mouse. . . it was something that she had treasured with all her heart, because it was a keepsake that her grandmother had given to her for her birthday.  
  
She also remembered, as if it happened yesterday, the moment she reached over to kiss him on his cheeks, and the moment that he returned her kiss with a kiss on her cheeks.  
  
Ohmigosh . . . Adam is Gordo. It's Gordo, I'm chatting with Gordo, thought Lizzie. Gordo is my Adam . . . 


	8. Chapter Eight

Author's Note: Here's the next chapter, please read and review! It's another short chapter, but I wanted to get another update up as soon as possible. I'd also note that this story is inspired by the movie "You've Got Mail," which was a remake of a classic called "Shop Around the Corner." Although, I must admit, even though I have mixed feelings about "You've Got Mail," I still really like the story's concept. Anyway, on with the story, and please read and review!!! Thanks, HM.  
  
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Lizzie stared at her computer screen, dumbfounded. She still couldn't grasp the fact that in chatting with "Adam," she had been chatting with her estranged best friend Gordo all along. A delirious, confusing mix of emotions and feelings swirled around her head, rendering Lizzie dizzy and lightheaded.  
  
It's Gordo, whispered Lizzie.  
  
Lizzie felt intensely excited to be talking to Gordo once again, and a part of her wanted to immediately tell "Adam" who she really was.  
  
But, just as she was about to type and tell Gordo the truth, she stopped, as she suddenly began to grapple with the seeming reality of the situation . . . if Gordo is my Adam, then that means . . .*he's* the one I'm meant to be with?!?!?!??? Gordo's my true love?  
  
Lizzie jumped back from her laptop screen and let out a loud quizzical, "Huh?"  
  
No, no, no, no, it can't be, it can't be, Gordo can't *really* be my *Adam*. He can't be, there's no way, Gordo's my friend, that's all, and I'm just a friend to him. . . .  
  
Yet . . . Lizzie took a moment to ponder. Well, everything the fortune teller has said has come true . . .while in San Francisco, I met "Adam," sort of, and he said the magic phrase, "mouse stuck on hand."  
  
But, but, Gordo? Adam is Gordo? It doesn't make any sense, it just doesn't make any sense. . .  
  
As she was swimming in her thoughts, Lizzie saw Adam post another message on the computer screen.  
  
Adam: Hey Hilary, you still there?  
  
Lizzie snapped out of her trance and typed a response.  
  
Hilary: Yes, yes, I'm still here! Sorry, had to deal with something that just came up. Don't worry about it. So, were you able to get all the syrup off your hands?  
  
Lizzie decided not to tell Gordo who she really was. . . she wanted some time to sort through her feelings.  
  
Adam: Lol! I hope so, otherwise, I'll be having a very sticky night's sleep!  
  
Hilary: : ) Anyway, I'm sorry, but I think it's really funny and cute picturing you with that little mouse stuck on your hand!  
  
Adam: Yeah, I guess it's funny. Ha- ha.  
  
Hilary: so, what were we chatting about before you had your little accident with the huckleberry syrup?  
  
Adam: I was about to tell you about some more about my best friend, the best friend I've been in love with since middle school.  
  
With that message, Lizzie's heart skipped a beat. Oh . . my . . God. She hadn't made the connection before, probably because she couldn't handle the truth, probably because she couldn't handle the reality of the situation. But, now, the full implication of what was transpiring between her and Gordo was hitting her with the force of a hurricane. . . The best friend that "Adam" was talking about, the best friend that he was in love with, that best friend, that best friend was *her.*  
  
Ohmigosh, Gordo's in love with me . . .  
  
Lizzie took her right hand off of her heart, and put it down on the desk to support herself. I can't believe it, I can't believe it. . .why didn't he ever tell me? wondered Lizzie. And as she pondered about her friendship with Gordo, some of the things that had happened to them suddenly began to make a lot of sense. She understood now why Gordo reacted so poorly and negatively to her relationship with her ex-boyfriend . . . Gordo was jealous. . .  
  
Lizzie put her fingers back on the keyboard to type a message. She still decided to keep her identity a secret, because now, even more than ever, she felt like a jumbled mix of conflicting emotions, a jumbled mix of emotions that were pulling and nagging at her from several directions all at once. She needed time to sort through her collage of feelings.  
  
And right now, despite the fortune teller's prophecy, she still couldn't imagine herself being with Gordo in a romantic relationship. It just didn't feel . . .*right*. She had known Gordo all her life, almost as if he were a brother, and as much as she loved him dearly, she didn't know if she could have anything more than platonic feelings for him.  
  
But . . .it wasn't as if she was closing the possibility. She just needed time, time to re-imagine and review her friendship with Gordo from an entirely new perspective. In the meantime, before she revealed herself to Gordo, she was going to use this time to chat with "Adam," to find out a little more about how he truly feels about her. She just wanted to make sure Gordo was truly in love with her, because, frankly, she still had a hard time believing it.  
  
Hilary: Tell me more about your best friend, Adam. What is she like?  
  
As Lizzie asked this question, she felt a wave of nervousness crash over her body, as she suddenly found herself very curious and anxious to hear Gordo's response.  
  
Adam: Well, for one thing, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever known in my life.  
  
Ohhh, gasped Lizzie. Lizzie's heart was overcome with a soft, tender, loving ache, as her mind, heart, and body began to understand what Gordo had just told her. He thinks I'm beautiful . . .ohmigosh, that's so sweet, that's so sweet. Oh, Gordo, thought Lizzie, why didn't you ever tell me how you felt before?  
  
Adam continued: She was the prettiest girl I'd known during middle school, high school, and college, but I know she never really ever understood how truly beautiful she was. She's too humble about herself. And really, her humility made and makes her beauty even more attractive, and well, more beautiful.  
  
Lizzie started blushing furiously. It was as if Gordo knew her from the inside out, and knew things about her that even she wasn't fully aware of.  
  
Hilary: she sounds . . .amazing, Adam.  
  
Lizzie felt very awkward about complimenting herself. And she kicked herself because she almost typed in "Gordo" instead of "Adam."  
  
Adam: She really is, Hilary. She really is. Do you want to hear more?  
  
Lizzie typed her response immediately. Hilary: Yes!! Please go on!!!  
  
Don't stop, Gordo, don't stop. . .  
  
Adam: okay! Anyway, like I said earlier, she's been my best friend since we were babies, and I've been in love with her almost as long. She's not only beautiful on the outside, she's also beautiful from the inside. There's just something about her spirit, her soul, that has drawn me to her ever since I've known her. I love how she loves her friends, and how she has always been there for me, through everything. I trust her completely, and there isn't a thing in the world that I wouldn't tell her, except . . .  
  
Hilary: except what?  
  
Adam: except how I really feel about her. Believe me, there have been so many moments when I tried to get up the nerve to tell her the truth, and each time, something would come up or I just couldn't get myself to say it to her. Too afraid, I guess.  
  
But, you're doing it right now, Gordo, you're doing it right now. And I'm loving it, thought Lizzie. This was a side of Gordo that she never realized existed in him, and it was beginning to transform her feelings towards Gordo. Maybe, just maybe, Gordo can be someone who's more than just a friend . . . 


	9. Chapter Nine

Lizzie sat straight up on her desk, trying to catch her breath. Gordo's expressions of his love for her had her heart racing with deep excitement, anticipation, and, joy. She couldn't stop from smiling if her life depended on it. Every time that Gordo typed "I love my best friend," Lizzie's heart would open up just that much further, and surely, if slowly, the idea of Gordo as someone more than a friend inched that much closer to feeling *real.*  
  
No one's ever made me feel like this before, not even Stewart, thought Lizzie. Please don't stop, keep going . . .  
  
Adam continued: But, now, I think it's too late.   
  
Oh? What does he mean by that?  
  
Hilary: Too late? For you and your best friend?  
  
Adam: Well, Hilary, to be honest, up until, oh, six months ago, I always believed that one day, my friend and I would end up together. But, I don't believe that anymore.   
  
Lizzie's face lit up for a flickering moment. You did??? You always thought we'd end up together? I didn't know you were so romantic, Gordo . . . that's so sweet.  
  
Then her heart started to sink when the last sentence of Adam's message sunk in. Ohhh, no. . . wait, does he mean by that. . . does he mean that he used to love me but doesn't love me anymore? I *need* to know!  
  
Hilary: you don't believe you'll end up together, Adam? That's so sad. What happened? Don't you love her anymore?  
  
Lizzie held her breath anxious for Gordo's response.  
  
Adam: No, no! Oh my god, I am still so deeply and madly in love with her, Hilary. But . . .  
  
Lizzie let out a sigh of relief. Then she thought to herself, waitaminute, Lizzie, you really do want Gordo to be in love with you, don't you? As Lizzie typed her response, she began to intently ponder the meaning of that thought.  
  
Hilary: but what, Adam?   
  
Adam: But, being in love with my best friend is driving me insane, especially since I haven't spoken with or seen her in six months, and even worse, it sounds like she's really happy with this guy she's been seeing for a couple years. So, that's why I don't think things will ever happen between her and me, because it's hard to be with someone when she's going out with another guy, you know?   
  
The smile from Lizzie's face disappeared as she began to remember the details of her fight with Gordo six months ago. She had been deeply hurt by Gordo's refusal to accept her relationship with Stewart.   
  
Hilary: I'm really sorry, Adam.   
  
For everything, whispered Lizzie.   
  
Adam: Thanks, Hilary. That means a lot to me. These six months have been absolutely awful. Not being with her, not being able to even hear her voice, it's like I'm missing a piece of my self. I just really miss her, Hilary, I just really miss her.   
  
Lizzie closed her eyes and breathed in Gordo's pain. She could literally feel his longing for her jumping off from the computer screen and diving deep inside her heart.   
  
Lizzie then began to think to herself about the things that happened since her fight with Gordo. A few months after the fight, she had broken up with her boyfriend Stewart for cheating on her. But, even though she desperately wanted to talk to Gordo about everything that happened and to feel his caring and support, she couldn't face up to telling him that he had been right all along about Stewart. She felt too ashamed of herself, too ashamed for not listening to the advice of her best friend. She just needed some space, to sort out her feelings, to grieve the loss of her relationship, and some time to give her the strength to eventually rebuild her friendship with Gordo.   
  
Lizzie briefly thought about telling Gordo who she really was, but . . .not yet, thought Lizzie, not yet. Still, she wanted to tell "Adam" that she was missing him as well.  
  
Hilary: Adam, I'm sure she misses you, too. I know she does, trust me, I know how women are.   
  
Adam: Really? You think? Because I was thinking she still absolutely hates my guts, and is totally into her boyfriend and has completely forgotten about me.   
  
It hurt Lizzie to think that Gordo would *ever* think that she would forget about him, or that she would hate him. Yes, she was very angry and hurt six months ago, but she never hated him, even while they were having their fight.   
  
I miss you so much, Gordo, now, more than ever, whispered Lizzie to herself. Lizzie's heart wanted nothing more than to reach through the computer screen, grab Gordo by his collar and hold on to him tightly as if both their lives depended on it, and whisper into his ear how much he means to her, how much she has missed him, and how she couldn't imagine a life without him in it.   
  
Hilary: No, trust me, Adam, even though she may have wanted some space with you, I'm sure she's wondering about you, about how you're doing, thinking and feeling loving thoughts about you.  
  
After Lizzie had just typed in her last message, she wondered, what? What did I just say? I said I'm feeling loving thoughts about Gordo? Is that true, thought Lizzie? *Am* I feeling loving thoughts for Gordo? Well, yeah, but loving in a best friend way. Right? Right?   
  
Adam: I really hope you're right, Hilary. And I hope that she'll want to talk with me again, because what I really want to do is tell her how sorry I am for the way I acted six months ago, and as much as I hate to admit it, that I was wrong for trying to tell her how she should live her life. It took me six months, and a talk with a strange old man on a park bench in Washington D.C. to figure this out, but I really wasn't being a friend to her, and now I feel so disappointed in myself, for letting my friend down when she needed me, for letting myself down.   
  
As Lizzie's eyes began to well up, she began to briskly twirl her long blonde hair, something she always did when she began to feel as if her emotions were about to overwhelm her heart. Oh thank you, Gordo, thank you. It means so much for me to hear you say those things, you're such a good friend, you're such a good friend and I love you so much . . . 


	10. Chapter Ten

Author's Note: Okay, here's Chapter 10, finally. Sorry it's taken me a bit, but I have to say, that it's been very difficult to go back and forth between this story and my other story, A Second Chance. The emotions in both stories are so different, I'm finding it really difficult to get into one story if I've been totally immersed in the other one, if that makes any sense! Anyway, enough of me rambling, on with the story. Please read and review! Thanks, hm  
  
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When Lizzie told her self just how much she loved Gordo, a wave of emotions began to crash her body. She nervously blinked her eyes several times, closed them for a brief moment, then opened them with a broad grin on her face. Her eyes were sparkling with the glow of unexpected joy.  
  
I *do* love Gordo, thought Lizzie. I know I do, I've loved him as my best friend ever since we first met as kids.  
  
But, in this moment, during this night, her love for Gordo seemed to be changing, it was undergoing a transformation, a metamorphosis. The love she was feeling tonight for Gordo felt . . . . new, odd, strange, unusual, and . . . .absolute *wonderful*. And her feelings were making her imagine possibilities that had never really crossed her mind before. She began to imagine what it would be like to kiss Gordo, to hold his hands, to be in his arms, to touch his face, to smile into his eyes, just the way that people who are in love do.  
  
When she first started visualizing these images, at first, they frightened her . . . they still didn't feel right, they still didn't feel quite natural.  
  
I don't know, I don't know, I don't know! I mean it's *Gordo*! How can I be having these feelings for Gordo, my best friend, my buddy Gordo?  
  
Yet, as she continued to chat with "Adam," the images of her and Gordo together kept infiltrating her mind and heart, and after awhile, she gave in and stop resisting them, permitting them to leisurely linger and play out in her head. With each moment she was with Adam, she could feel herself worrying less and less about where her heart was trying to take her, and she could feel her resistance to the irresistible pull of her heart slowly relenting, relaxing and settling into the flow and magic of the present moment.  
  
As Lizzie began typing in her response to Adam, she thought to herself how much it meant to her that Gordo told her how sorry he was about their fight, especially knowing now that he was in love with her. Because for Lizzie it meant that he *truly* loved her, that he loved her so much that he was willing to let go his desire to be with her and to support her in her relationship as long as it would mean her happiness. And she wanted, needed to tell him that she could *never* be disappointed in Gordo.  
  
Hilary: trust me, trust me, trust me, trust me Adam when I tell you that your best friend isn't disappointed in you, no way. If she's as good a friend as you say she is, she knows deep in her heart that you'll always be there for her, always, that you will always have her back. And she would never be disappointed in you, ever. Never. Okay? Believe in me.  
  
Adam: Thank you Hilary, thank you. And, I believe you, and I believe in you, I really do.  
  
Hilary: Good! : ) Because it's true!  
  
Adam: And if I could tell her one thing right now, I'd tell her again that I've *always* got her back, even if she never wants to talk to me again. She can always can come to me for anything, and I'll always be there for her.  
  
Oh Gordo . . . . Lizzie's heart skipped a beat as she read Adam's message. What he wrote brought forth memories of all those times Gordo would tell her, "I've got your back, McGuire." And every time he said that, she would remember feeling that much safer and confident about the craziness of her life, knowing that whatever happened, he would be there to support her, comfort her, nourish her, and to love her.  
  
Hilary: you're an amazing friend, Adam, you know that? You are absolutely wonderful. Your friend is truly lucky to have someone like you in her life.  
  
Adam: I know this may sound weird, but I know what you're saying is true because what you said sounds just like something Lizzie would always say to me.  
  
Waitaminute. . .Lizzie? Did Adam just type in *Lizzie*? He did, he did, he did . . . Even though Lizzie knew that Gordo was talking about her, seeing him explicitly mention her name erased any last doubts that she had that Adam had been talking about her all along, any last doubts about Adam's real identity. And seeing Adam type in "Lizzie" only made everything that was happening some more surreal and oddly beautiful.  
  
Is this all a dream, whispered Lizzie? If so, then I don't ever want to wake up . . .  
  
Adam: Oh crap, I didn't mean to tell you my best friend's name. It just slipped.  
  
Hilary: Don't worry, Adam, I promise I won't tell anyone. You can trust me, you know that, right?  
  
Adam: yeah, I do. And really, I was getting tired of typing "my best friend" instead of "Lizzie" anyway.  
  
I love it when Adam writes my name, giggled Lizzie. As Lizzie pondered on her response, she suddenly realized what a great opportunity this moment presented to find out more about Gordo's feelings for her. She smiled mischievously, rubbed her palms together with gleeful anticipation, and then thought to herself, oh this is going to be fun! I'm going to truly find out once and for all if he's been in love with me for all this time . . . .  
  
Hilary: Lol! Adam, tell me more about you and Lizzie. It's amazing to think that you've been in love with her for so many years. So, tell me, when did you first know you were in love?  
  
Adam: Wow, you know want to know the story of me and Lizzie, huh? I've never told anyone else this, and I've been dying to get it off my chest, so, if you've got some time, I'd love to tell you all about it.  
  
Hilary: yes yes yes yes!!!!! : ) In other words, YES!! Tell me, Adam, I've got plenty of time!  
  
Adam: Lol! You're so cute, Hilary, you really are. God, you remind me so much of Lizzie.  
  
Oh! gasped Lizzie. For a brief moment, it almost felt as if Gordo was able to peer through his computer screen and actually *see* her. Migosh, this is all so unbelievably amazing. . . . it's as if he already knows who I really am . . . .  
  
Adam: Okay, if I had to pick the moment when it all started, it would have to be that day in Fourth Grade, at the carnival, when Lizzie kissed me on the cheeks and gave me the little mouse figurine as a gift. I can still remember as if it happened yesterday that kiss. And I guess that's partly why I still carry the mouse figurine with me always, because it's a reminder of the moment I began to see Lizzie as more than just a friend.  
  
Hilary: ohh, that's so cute, Adam. That's such a sweet story.  
  
Ohmigosh, has he really been in love with me for that long? Why didn't he ever tell me? Oh, Gordo . . . .  
  
Adam: But, seriously, if I had to pick one moment when it became crystal clear to me just how deep my feelings ran for her would be a moment way back in middle school. It was the beginning of eighth grade, and my parents and I decided that I should go to high school a year early. So, here I was, this short scrawny kid in a high school where I didn't know anyone. I went only for a couple of days before I decided to go back to middle school. It was an awful experience, Hilary. Truly awful.  
  
Lizzie smiled as she reminisced about Gordo's brief misadventures in high school, and how Gordo had to lied to her about what he had been going through. I missed him so much those few days he was gone from me. . . .  
  
Hilary: that must have been a really difficult experience. How did it feel being apart from Lizzie during those few days?  
  
Okay, thought Lizzie, now I'm going to find out what he *really* thought about me when he was away in high school!  
  
Adam: even those few days in high school were absolutely miserable, those few days made me realize the truth. . . they made me realize just how much Lizzie meant to me.  
  
Hilary: oh . . . . how so, Adam? Tell me.  
  
Adam: Because the truth is, what was miserable about high school wasn't the other kids, the homework, the different environment, the different cafeteria food. No, it wasn't any of that.  
  
Hilary: then what was it?  
  
Adam: the most miserable thing about my short-lived early high school experience was that Lizzie wasn't there with me. What was miserable about that experience was just how much I missed her, how much I missed being with her! I didn't realize until I was away from her those few days just how much joy and beauty she brought into my life. I'd taken it for granted because until that moment, I always thought she'd always be there with me, forever.  
  
I missed you, too, Gordo, like you would never believe, thought Lizzie. Oh god did I miss you. . . .  
  
Hilary: Adam, I'm sure, I'm absolutely sure she felt the same way, too. She missed you so much.  
  
Adam: Really? You think?  
  
Hilary: Yes, I'm positive.  
  
Adam: I hope you're right. I felt so scared thinking about not having her in my life. And, on the night I decided to come back to middle school, I realized that if I continued on in high school, it would mean I'd go off to college a year early, and that would mean I would be separated from Lizzie a year earlier than necessary. And I just couldn't do that, I just couldn't, you know?  
  
Hilary: yes, yes, I do know, I really do.  
  
Adam: And that night, the only thing I wanted to do with all of my heart was to go to Lizzie's house, grab her by the arms and hold on to her and kiss her beautiful face and have her promise me that we would never be apart again.  
  
Gordo why didn't you tell me all of this? said Lizzie, as tears began to flow from out the corner of her eyes. That's how I felt, too, I couldn't bear the thought of being away from you. But, but, you were so nonchalant and cool about being away from me, I didn't think you cared, I didn't think it mattered to you . . . .  
  
Lizzie thought about Gordo's first day of high school, when she waited for him at the bus stop. She remembered feeling nervous about being there, not quite sure how Gordo would react, not quite sure why she was there. As she waited for the bus to arrive, she remembered standing there, with her arms crossed, thinking and wondering about Gordo, and imagining Gordo marching into high school, sweeping an older freshman girl off his feet with his intelligence and quirky charm, and in the process, completely forgetting about her.  
  
As Gordo got off the bus, she was so excited to see him, so excited to talk to him about his first day of high school, and to tell him how much she had missed him. But, her excitement and joy vanished the minute she saw Gordo step off the bus. She remembered vividly the annoyed look on Gordo's face, as he asked her what she was doing at the bus stop. She was taken aback by his reaction, but she still tried to spark a conversation with him, even asking him to hang out with her and Miranda. But he kept being cold and distant with her, as if he was already in the process of erasing Lizzie McGuire out of his life. And that little moment hurt her deeply, and had stayed with her and nagged at her through her adulthood. He didn't miss me the way I missed him . . . or so she had thought, until now.  
  
Hilary: did you ever tell her how you really felt about being a part from, Adam? Did you tell her how much you missed her, that you came back to middle school in be back with her?  
  
Adam: No. In fact, the idiot that I was, I tried to put up a brave front and act like I was totally enjoying high school. I didn't want to let her know that I made a mistake. I remember after the first miserable day of high school, I got off the bus stop and saw Lizzie standing there, waiting for me. Now, deep inside, you wouldn't believe how happy I was to see her there, waiting for *me*!  
  
Hilary: oh, that's so sweet Adam!  
  
Adam: I'd been so worried that she'd forget about me, yet, seeing her there, oh my god, she looked so beautiful, Hilary, she looked so beautiful.  
  
Hilary: she did?  
  
Adam: oh yes. Just that one day away from her, thinking about spending the next year without her by my side, I saw her with totally different eyes. All I wanted to do was jump off the bus and hug her and tell her with every fiber of my being how much I missed being with her.  
  
That's what you were feeling, Gordo? whispered Lizzie. That's what you were feeling? Me, too, Gordo, me too . . . . oh, you should have told me, Gordo, you should have told me . . . .  
  
Hilary: But, you didn't do those things, you didn't tell her you missed her. Do you know how she must have felt the way you acted around her that day?  
  
Lizzie felt a tinge of anger as she wrote her last message, wanting to get across to Adam/Gordo just how much he had hurt her on that day.  
  
Adam: I know that now. But, back then, really, I guess I couldn't believe that such a beautiful girl like Lizzie could ever miss me the way I missed her, the way I loved her. So, instead of telling her how I really felt, I acted like I hardly missed her at all, that I was okay being away from her. But, the truth is, that day, I wanted nothing more than to just be, together, with the girl I loved.  
  
Lizzie took in Gordo's words and didn't know if she wanted to hug him or to hit him. She was so mad that Gordo didn't tell her the truth back then, wishing things could have been different between them, knowing that on that day, their friendship could have began to develop into something more.  
  
But, for the most part, she was so moved and touched by Gordo's tender words. It feels like he's letting me inside of his heart, thought Lizzie, and I love it so much. And Lizzie was slowly beginning to come to a realization, a truth that she had been so afraid of embracing, a truth that she had buried deep inside her heart for all these years.  
  
Have I've been in love with Gordo all this time? Have I just been too afraid to admit to it? I don't know, I just don't know . . . . but, maybe, just maybe . . . . 


	11. Chapter Eleven

Author's Note: Sorry for the late update, here's chapter eleven, finally. Thanks again for all the reviews, and please be patient, and don't worry, they'll get together soon!  
  
This chapter first starts from Lizzie's POV, then switches over to David's. Please read and review!!! hm  
  
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Adam: I know that now. But, back then, really, I guess I couldn't believe that such a beautiful girl like Lizzie could ever miss me the way I missed her, the way I loved her. So, instead of telling her how I really felt, I acted like I hardly missed her at all, that I was okay being away from her. But, the truth is, that day, I wanted nothing more than to just be with the girl I loved.  
  
As Lizzie read Adam's message, she was deeply moved and touched by his tender words. Ohmigosh, Gordo is so amazing, why have I been so blind to the feelings between us all this time?  
  
Hilary: you are really sweet, you know that? : )  
  
Adam: really? You think I'm sweet? You're making me blush, Hilary! : )  
  
Hilary: well too bad, because it's true, I know it! But, I'll have you know, you are a complete idiot for not telling her the truth back then. You're sweet, but an idiot! A sweet idiot! ; )  
  
Adam: Ha! me being an idiot, now that I can believe! Lol! Yeah, Hilary, you don't know how often I kick myself for not telling Lizzie the truth.  
  
Hilary: why are you so afraid of telling her?  
  
Adam: Because she's the love of my life. Honestly. And I don't know what I would do if I told her the truth and she told me she doesn't, that she couldn't, love me the way I love her, you know?  
  
Lizzie gasped. The love of my life? He thinks I'm the love of his life??? Oh, Gordo, ohmigosh, you're taking my breath away, you're sweeping me off my feet!  
  
Deeply touched by Adam's words, Lizzie momentarily forgot that she was pretending not to be herself and without thinking, instinctively typed in a response.  
  
Hilary: ohmigosh, the love of your life? That's is so unbelievably sweet of you to say, Adam! Thank you, thank you, thank you . . .  
  
Adam: thank me? For what?  
  
Lizzie's heart froze. Oh, my, God. She slapped her forehead and muttered, "Oh, Lizzie! Why'd you thank him, you're Hilary remember, Hilary, not Lizzie, Hilary!!!!" She pursed her lips then quickly typed in a message.  
  
Hilary: oh! I personally wasn't thanking you, what I meant was, that if I was Lizzie, and you had told me that I'm the love of your life, I would totally appreciate it, it would mean so much to me, I mean to Lizzie, and so I, she, she and I, would thank you. I mean, Lizzie would thank you, not me, Lizzie. I mean I'm not Lizzie, but, if I were Lizzie, that's what I would say. Uh, make sense?  
  
Adam: Lol! Actually, I don't know how, but I understand exactly what you're saying.  
  
"Whew!!" Lizzie breathed a sigh of relief.  
  
Hilary: great!  
  
As she thought about how close she had been to giving away her identity, she began to think that she should tell him the truth. I can't keep going on like this, thought Lizzie, it's not fair to Gordo, and he'd have every right to be upset at me for deceiving him.  
  
But, but, but, I still don't know what I'm feeling or how I'm feeling about Gordo, and I would have no idea what to say or how to be if I were to tell him the truth. . . .  
  
She rolled her eyes, slapped her forehead again, then decided, not yet, not just yet. . . soon, but I still need some time, to be sure, I just want to be sure.  
  
She contemplated about her decision, then she said to herself, Oh geez, Lizzie McGuire, you're some piece of work, Gordo has just told you that you're the love of his life, and you still want more reassurances that he's madly in love with you?????  
  
She paused for a moment.  
  
Then she shouted out loud, "YES!!" and with renewed vigor, she furiously began typing in a question that she desperately wanted to ask Adam.  
  
Hilary: uh, Adam, I want to ask you something, something about, you know, Lizzie.  
  
Adam: shoot, ask away! : )  
  
Hilary: uh, you said, you know, that you thought Lizzie was beautiful, right?  
  
Adam: yep.  
  
Hilary: ummmm, you meant when you guys were younger right? But, do you still think she's beautiful, like right now? Yeah, she might have been cute way back when, but she's probably added a few wrinkles and maybe gained some weight since then, so you probably like her more for her personality now. Right?  
  
Adam: ha! Of course I love her personality, but I tell you, she was a pretty girl when we were teenagers, but, my god, these past few years, she has turned into a stunningly beautiful woman. She takes my breath away, she's so beautiful! And I swear she just keeps getting more and more beautiful with each passing day.  
  
Lizzie's heart was now firmly planted in her throat. She was speechless. Ohmigosh Gordo, you really think that about me? About me? "You are so good to me, Gordo," she whispered to herself.  
  
Hilary: I know I must sound like a broken record, but you are just so sweet and charming, you're just great. And, believe me, your friend Lizzie has been a complete idiot for not seeing that in you. Trust me on this.  
  
Adam: hey stop it! You're making me blush again!! I'm a guy, I'm not supposed to blush at compliments. : ) Thanks, thanks, thanks, Hilary.  
  
Hilary: you are very, very, very welcome! : )  
  
Adam: For me, she's even more beautiful because she doesn't realize just how beautiful she truly is. Her humility makes her beauty so unbelievably adorable!  
  
Oh, oh, oh, oh, ohmigosh, Gordo, you are going to seriously melt my heart if you keep saying these things to me!! Oh, I wish I could be with you right now, Gordo, I want to see your face, I want to see your smile, I want you to hold me in your arms, I want you to kiss me . . . .  
  
Hilary: you are the adorable one, Adam, honestly. I don't know if Lizzie deserves someone as truly fantastic as you.  
  
Adam: awww.. : ) Btw, Hilary, I want to tell you something.  
  
Hilary: shoot! Tell me! As long as it isn't bad news, right?  
  
Adam: no, no, no bad news, on the contrary. I know this is going to sound crazy, especially since logically I should have no idea what you look like, but, I'm sure you are absolutely gorgeous, and I know it, I don't know how, but I do. Deep down, I know it's true. . . .  
  
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DAVID'S POV  
  
As David entered his message and waited for Hilary to respond, he sat back in his chair, amazed that he was telling some of his deepest secrets to a woman he had just met online. It was such a relief to finally get his feelings for Lizzie off of his chest. He loved the fact that he felt so free to tell her his feelings, to tell her things that he had never told anyone before. And in doing so, in sharing his feelings with Hilary, his love for Lizzie seemed that much more real, because now, it wasn't just something he kept inside of his mind and heart.  
  
But, paradoxically, while his love for Lizzie only grew stronger as he chatted with Hilary, curiously, he found himself increasingly infatuated with her, increasingly attracted to her, increasingly curious about her.  
  
As he chatted with her, he kept thinking about how much he wanted to gaze into her eyes instead of merely gazing at her words, about how much he wanted to hear her laugh and see her smile instead of just seeing her type a "Lol" or a smiley face.  
  
He wanted to be with her, to actually be with Hilary, instead of just imagining what it would be like to be with her. He just felt so at home with her, and he realized he was starting to feel about her the way he feels about Lizzie.  
  
It makes no sense at all, but I think I just might be falling in love with Hilary, mused David. . . . 


	12. Chapter Twelve A Complicated Situation

Author's Note: here's chapter twelve! And I know you all want Adam and Hilary to meet, and they will, soon! I promise! Anyway, here's chapter twelve, it starts off with Gordo's point of view, then switches over to Lizzie's. Read and review! Thanks, hm  
  
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It makes no sense at all, but I think I just might be falling in love with Hilary, mused David. . . .  
  
"No, no, no, no, Gordo, man, get those thoughts out of your mind!" He vigorously shook his head, hoping his unwanted thoughts would shake loose and fall away.  
  
I'm in love with Lizzie, with Lizzie, I can't be falling in love with someone else, I just can't, especially someone you haven't even really met yet! It makes no sense, man, it makes no sense!  
  
Yeah, he continued to ponder, but since when did love ever have to make sense? There's just something about her, I can't place it, but I feel like I've known Hilary all my life, there's just something so familiar about her. And I just know she's beautiful, I just know it.  
  
Drowning in his thoughts, he saw Hilary's response on his computer screen.  
  
Hilary: uh, you think I'm gorgeous? Are you absolutely nuts???!??!?  
  
Adam: yeah, well, I am *nuts* lol, but that doesn't mean you aren't gorgeous.  
  
Hilary: Uh, hello, Adam, you haven't even met me, there's no way in the world you can you say I'm gorgeous. Not that I'm complaining, btw. : p  
  
Adam: I know it's not rational, but, it's so weird, I just *know* it's true. I know you're beautiful, Hilary. Am I right or am I right? : ) : )  
  
Hilary: uhhh, I'm gonna take the Fifth on that question! I *can't* answer that!  
  
Adam: Aha! I knew it, I knew it. You are beautiful, but you're just like Lizzie, you can't quite see it in yourself, you can't quite admit it to yourself. : )  
  
Hilary: grrr . . . you know you're very insistent, don't you?  
  
Adam: yes! I am! And I'm always right!  
  
Hilary: oh, you are, are you? Hmmpfh.  
  
Adam: Yes, and you're very cute when you're angry! : )  
  
Hilary: Lol! Alright, alright. I give. I mean, how can I be angry with you for telling me I'm beautiful?? : )  
  
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LIZZIE'S POV  
  
Lizzie sat in her chair, her face flushed, her heart racing with pure joy and anticipation. Ohmigosh, Gordo is such a flirt! I really didn't know he had this in him!  
  
She smiled, let out a soft chuckle, then she was suddenly hit with the burning desire to tell him the truth. I can't keep this up anymore, I need to tell him, this just isn't right. And, and, it feels right, it feels like the right moment to tell him the truth. Especially since, especially since, I feel so much affection for him right now, I feel, I feel . . . .  
  
Love . . . I feel love towards Gordo, I feeling loving feelings for Gordo, . . . Lizzie, just admit it to yourself, you love him, you're in love with him, you're deeply and madly and unequivocally in love with Gordo, with Gordo!!  
  
A broad smile flashed across her face. She felt so sure of herself, so sure of her feelings, she was just dying to tell Gordo the truth, to tell him that she loved him, to tell him that during all these years, she had always been in love with him.  
  
Just as she was about to reveal her identity, she saw Adam type in another message.  
  
Adam: Hilary, don't you think it's really unusual what's happening between us?  
  
Hilary: Oh? What do you mean?  
  
Alright, I wanna see where Gordo's going with this before I tell him who I am.  
  
Adam: I mean, I'm telling you things that I've never told anyone in my life before, and yet, I don't know who you really are, I don't really know what you look like, I really don't know anything about you.  
  
Lizzie worried about the tenor of Adam's questions. What was he getting at, she wondered?  
  
Hilary: does that bother you, Adam? Does it bother you that you're revealing yourself to a total stranger?  
  
Adam: no, not at all! This just feels absolutely perfect, absolutely wonderful. And when I think about what's happening, it just feels like this was all *meant* to happen, you know? But, it just feels so unreal, like it's all dream, that there's no way I could meet someone like you in such a random and happenstance way. Do you know what I mean, Hilary?  
  
I know, Gordo, I know. . . .  
  
Hilary: I feel the same way, Adam. I really do.  
  
Adam: you're so special to me, Hilary, you truly are. I knew you were special the moment I saw you enter the chatroom.  
  
Hilary: you did? really? But, but, you don't know me Adam! How can you think I'm so special to you? It doesn't make any sense!  
  
Adam: yeah, but it feels right, doesn't it?  
  
Hilary: yes, it does. . . .  
  
Adam: okay, I need to tell you something, Hilary.  
  
Hilary: um, okay, sure. Tell me . . . what's up, Adam? : )  
  
Adam: This is absolutely nuts, insane, completely fantastical, but the truth is, I know, I just know that deep in my heart, that I'm falling in love with you, Hilary.  
  
What did he just write???? He couldn't be, He can't be, no, no . . . .  
  
Hilary: let me get this straight, did you just say you're falling in love with me?  
  
Adam: Yes. Look, Hilary, it makes no sense at all, I know, but, I can't help the way I'm feeling. Believe me, I'm the most rational, skeptical, scientific person I know, and I don't usually let myself swim in my emotions. But, there's just something about you that touches me deeply. It's like I've known you all my life.  
  
Lizzie felt immensely flattered and completely betrayed by what Adam was telling her. Waitaminute, Gordo's falling in love with me, after he's just told me how much he's in love with me, I mean Lizzie, I mean me. . . .  
  
Lizzie slapped her forehead in utter frustration. Ugh. But, he's not really betraying you because he's telling you he loves *you.* Yeah, he may be falling for "Hilary," but that just means he's really falling in love with me, because I'm Hilary . . .  
  
Lizzie buried her face in her hands. Okay, I'm getting myself all confused. . . . I seriously need some aspirin, right now . . . .  
  
Hilary: um, I'm flattered and all, Adam, but, I wonder, how can you be falling in love with me if you've never met me before?  
  
Adam replied instantly.  
  
Adam: Because I *know* it. I can feel it in my heart.  
  
Hilary: No, no, come on, let's be realistic, you've never met me, you don't know what I look like, I could be a 300 pound circus fat lady for all you know, and we've only been chatting online for a few hours.  
  
Adam: Well, I think it's like this. Do you believe in love at first sight?  
  
Hilary: yeah, maybe.  
  
Adam: well, I do. And how is this any different? It's love at first "read." : )  
  
Hilary: ha, ha, that's cute, but, reading someone's words over the internet is very different from being face to face with someone.  
  
Adam: Well, then, there's only one way to find out, isn't there?  
  
Lizzie's heart skipped a beat. Ohmigosh, he isn't going, he doesn't want to, he isn't going to say . . .  
  
Adam: I want to meet you, Hilary. In real life, in real time, face to face. Just tell me where you are and I'll fly out there to meet you.  
  
Hilary: uhhh . . .. hold on, let me think about what you're asking, Adam.  
  
Ohmigosh ohmigosh, this is getting sooooo complicated! Uh-oh, think of something, think of something, think of something . . . .  
  
After a moment's thought, however, Lizzie suddenly began to feel even more intensely jealous of the whole situation.  
  
She was taken aback by the confidence and assertiveness in Gordo's message. How could he be so sure? And, how could he be in love with Lizzie, I mean with me, if he's so quick to fall for some woman he just met over the internet?  
  
Hilary: But, Adam, before I agree to meet with you, what about everything you just told me about how much you love Lizzie? How could you be falling for me, unless you don't love her anymore. Is that right?  
  
Lizzie typed in her message with great trepidation. I don't want to know the answer, I don't, I don't, I don't. . . .  
  
Adam: I still love Lizzie with all of my heart. I would give anything to be with her right now, to hold her, to embrace her, to take in all of her with all of my senses.  
  
Lizzie sighed with relief, then started feeling those jealous emotions creep back into her heart. But, but, if you still love me, Lizzie, how come you want to meet Hilary so badly? Hmm, what's Hilary got that I haven't got?  
  
She slapped her forehead again, sighed, and mused, Lizzie, do you realize just how ridiculous you sound?  
  
Hilary: But, if you are still in love with her, how come you want to meet with me? Why don't you tell Lizzie how you feel? What about how she feels?  
  
Adam: I want Lizzie, I'm in love with Lizzie, *and* I'm falling in love with you, Hilary. It's a paradox. But, I can't help it, I can't help the way I'm feeling right now. I just know, I don't know how, but I do, that when I meet you, you'll be everything I've dreamed of in a woman. There's this part of me that keeps telling me we're meant to be together.  
  
Lizzie read Gordo's message and felt as if she was about to implode from the force of her conflicting emotions. Maybe I should tell him the truth . . . .  
  
No no no, I need to know how he really and truly feels about me, Lizzie, before I tell him the truth. I can't tell him the truth if he'd rather be with Hilary than with me.. . .  
  
Lizzie rolled her eyes at the completely absurdity of her last thought. Great, this is absolutely sublime and unreal. . . I'm actually, truly, and madly jealous of me, of myself!!  
  
She didn't know what to feel and believe anymore. The only thing she was certain of at this moment was that she was beginning to feel lightheaded and that she more than anything else just wanted some aspirin.  
  
What do I do now? she wondered. She closed her eyes, rubbed her throbbing temples, meditated for a moment, then quickly came to a decision.  
  
Hilary: Adam, that was really, really sweet of you to say, but, I have to tell you something.  
  
Adam: sure, okay. Go ahead. It's not bad news or anything is it? Don't tell me you're married!  
  
Hilary: no, no, no, nothing like that!  
  
Adam: whew, you had me going for a second. So, what's up?  
  
As Lizzie typed in her response, she felt as if she was about to jump off a cliff and plunge into a dark abyss.  
  
Hilary: Hi Gordo, it's me, Lizzie McGuire. Hilary Duff is my username, you've been chatting with me all this time. . . .  
  
As soon as she entered the message, she held her breath and anxiously waited for a response. . . . . 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

First Author's Note: This Chapter begins with David's POV, a few moments before Lizzie reveals her identity to Gordo. The chapter then switches to both their perspectives.  
  
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Adam: I want Lizzie, I'm in love with Lizzie, *and* I'm falling in love with you, Hilary. It's a paradox. But, I can't help it, I can't help the way I'm feeling right now. I just know, I don't know how, but I do, that when I meet you, you'll be everything I've dreamed of in a woman. There's this part of me that keeps telling me we're meant to be together.  
  
As he typed his last message, David sat back in his chair, shook his head, and wondered, what in the world am I doing? I don't get this, I don't get this, I don't get this . . . .  
  
Why am I telling Hilary that I'm falling in love with her?  
  
He thought for a moment, then wondered, even more curiously, why is it so *easy* for me to tell her I'm falling in love with her?  
  
This is so amazing, I mean, I've been so afraid of telling Lizzie the truth for all these years, and then, after a few hours in a chatroom with a woman I just met, it feels like I'm almost compelled to tell Hilary how I feel about her.  
  
He scratched his and raised his eyebrows, deeply puzzled. What confused David was that th the more confident he felt about his feelings towards Hilary, oddly, at the same time, the more he thought about Lizzie, the more he wished and longed to be with her again, wanting nothing else except to see her beautiful, adorable face.  
  
Well, except I would love to be able to see Hilary's face, too. I'd love to see Lizzie and Hilary right now . . . . because I love them both?!??  
  
Aargggh, I am sooo terribly confused right now! How can I be in love with two women at the same time? It's not right, it's not right . . . .  
  
But, then, but then . . . .why does it *feel* right? Why does everything that's been happening feel like it's all meant to happen?  
  
Hilary's message popped on the computer screen, interrupting his train of thought.  
  
Hilary: Adam, that was really, really sweet of you to say, but, I have to tell you something.  
  
Adam: sure, okay. Go ahead. It's not bad news or anything is it? Don't tell me you're married!  
  
Hilary: no, no, no, nothing like that!  
  
Adam: whew, you had me going for a second. So, what's up?  
  
Hilary: Hi Gordo, it's me, Lizzie McGuire. Hilary Duff is my username, you've been chatting with me all this time. . . .  
  
"Li-Lizzie?" He said out loud. I don't get it, I'm chatting with Hilary, not Lizzie. And there's no way that Hilary can be Lizzie, because Hilary is Hilary, and Lizzie is Lizzie.  
  
He laughed, then thought, okay, okay, it's Hilary trying to be funny, trying to pull my leg.  
  
Adam: uh, Hilary, I don't get it. What do you mean, you're Lizzie? You're joking, right? Ha-ha, that was funny. I have to admit, you had me going there for a second. ; )  
  
Hilary: No, Gordo. I'm not joking. I *am* Lizzie, you know, your best friend Lizzie McGuire, remember me? : )  
  
Upon reading her message, David completely froze in his chair. Not a single part of his body was moving. The entire hotel room seemed to go deathly quiet, as if time was standing still and the world had stopped spinning. As he sat there, in his chair, like a statute, he could feel a spine tingling numbness engulf his entire body.  
  
He understood what Hilary, what Lizzie, had just told him, but it just didn't, it couldn't register in his mind. It was as if someone had just told him that aliens had landed on earth.  
  
No, no, it can't be, it can't be, it doesn't make any sense, Hilary can't be Lizzie, she can't, it's impossible, there's just no way . . . .  
  
But, but, she just called me Gordo, and . . .and . . . I don't ever remember telling Hilary my nickname, so, how does she know my name is Gordo, unless . . . .unless . . . .  
  
He stared again at Hilary's last message, and the truth slowly began to sink in. It is, it-it-it is Lizzie, it is her, it's really Lizzie, I'm chatting with Lizzie . . . .  
  
Oh my god, whispered David, "Lizzie?" My Lizzie? The Lizzie that I grew up with? The Lizzie I'm in love with? Is it really her?  
  
Then, in a blink of an eye, he stood up from his chair and shouted, "IT IS LIZZIE!!"  
  
Hilary: ummm . . . .are you still there, Gordo? Please, Gordo, let me know if you're still here!  
  
He sat back in his chair and quickly typed in a response.  
  
Adam: Lizzie? Is it really you? Is it you?  
  
Lizzie bit her lower lip as she typed in her response. She had no idea how he would respond. Would he be angry at her? Would he be overjoyed to realize he had been chatting with his best friend all along? Please don't be mad at me, please don't be mad at me, I just hope you're not mad at me . . . .  
  
Hilary: yes, Gordo, it's me, it's really me. Um, how are ya? : )  
  
As David read the response, a huge surge of delirious joy and happiness rushed through his entire being. He let out a big smile and whispered, "Lizzie . . . ."  
  
He was so excited that he was with with his best friend once again, since it felt like it had been ages since they had last spoken with each other. His hands shook with unrestrained joyful energy, and he could barely compose himself to type a response.  
  
Adam: It's you, it's really you! : ) : ) Lizzie, this is incredible, this is absolutely incredible, I can't believe this! I haven't spoken with you in six months and I run into you randomly in a chatroom. What are the chances of that happening?? : )  
  
Oh! gasped Lizzie. She sighed a breath of relief and smiled broadly, as she could feel Gordo's unbridled affection and joy reaching out to her and touching her heart. Okay, he's not mad at all, this is awesome! And he seems so happy to be talking with me! He's so sweet . . . .  
  
Hilary: I know! It's amazing, isn't it? : ) It must have been fate. It's so great to be chatting with you again, Gordo, it really is! : ) : ) : )  
  
Adam: Oh man, Lizzie, you don't know how happy I am to be talking with you again, sort of! I've missed you so much these past few months, like you wouldn't believe!!! : ) : )  
  
She chuckled and thought, boy, if Gordo were here, he probably would be giving me a big bear hug and showering me with kisses and not letting me go! She smiled, then thought, and that would be perfectly fine with me . . . .  
  
Hilary: I've missed you too, Gordo, I really have. I've thought about you so much these past few months. I'm so sorry that I've been so out of touch, I am, I really am.  
  
Adam: Don't worry about it, Lizzie, don't worry about it. I'm just glad to be chatting with you now. : )  
  
Hilary: Me, too! : )  
  
Adam: And I just want to tell you how sorry I am about the way I acted on the phone six months ago. You were so right, I wasn't being a good friend at all, I wasn't being very supportive. I'm so sorry Lizzie, please forgive me.  
  
He desperately wanted to ask her if she wanted to talk on the phone because he desperately wanted to hear her beautiful melodic voice, to hear the sweetness of her laugh, to her the joy and twinkle in her voice. But, he was still reluctant to ask, not quite sure about the standing of their friendship, not quite sure what was appropriate at this moment. All he could think and feel was that he was chatting with *Lizzie!* With Lizzie, with the woman of his dreams. Yes, they were connected together just by words, but for now, this was all just pure magic to his heart; he was loving and savoring every minute of this.  
  
Then, as he was about to type in another message, a thought hit him with the force of a hurricanne.  
  
Waitaminute, how long did Lizzie know that she was talking with me?  
  
The reality of the situation slowly started to dawn on him. Since Hilary really is Lizzie, that means, that means . . . . He shuddered as he grappled with the truth . . . .these past few hours, I've just been telling Lizzie that I've been in love with her for all these years!!  
  
He buried his face into his hands as a million, billion thoughts swam and swirled around in the deep recesses of his mind.  
  
Oh my god, what have I just done?  
  
His head started to spin as he began to realize exactly what had conspired these past few hours with "Hilary." His intense joy in unexpectedly being reunited with his best friend suddenly began to dissipate and sink into a mire of mixed emotions and conflicted thoughts.  
  
For so long he had kept his love for Lizzie hidden from her, for so long he had protected his secret as if his life depended on it. He kept his feelings a secret because he was so afraid to release his emotions, so afraid to open up his heart, for fear of rejection, for fear that Lizzie would tell him she didn't love him the way he loved her.  
  
He had kept it all a well kept secret, until tonight, when he unwittingly told "Hilary" his truth.  
  
Lizzie knows, she knows, he whispered.  
  
And that thought brought feelings of mind numbingly intense fear into his heart and mind. Oh my god, oh my god, she *knows* . . . .  
  
Adam: Lizzie, hey, I want to ask you something.  
  
Hilary: Shoot! : ) Ask me!  
  
Adam: when did you figure out who I really was?  
  
Lizzie froze when she read Gordo's response. Uh-oh . . . . With great trepidation, she typed in a response.  
  
Hilary: I knew it was after you told me that you had a mouse stuck on your hand, and then you explained to me that it was that mouse figurine I had given you back in the fourth grade. You don't how touched I was that you still kept it with you after all these years.  
  
David felt like he was about to implode. She's known for that long? He couldn't sit still any longer and he stood up out of chair and started pacing around his hotel room back and forth back and forth muttering to himself, why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she tell me?  
  
He felt his whole world spinning out of control. He felt so incredibly exposed, so incredibly raw. Not only had he revealed to Lizzie his deepest most cherished dreams, desires, and longings, he was now also realizing that she had tricked and misled him for the past several hours.  
  
Adam: You've known it was me for the past couple hours. Why didn't you tell me it was you, Lizzie?  
  
She could feel a palpable shift in the tone of Gordo's messages. Gone was his joy and excitement. Instead, she could sense in his words a cautious, skeptical sense of anxiety and hurt.  
  
Hilary: I really don't know, Gordo, I can't explain it, it just happened and I couldn't tell you after awhile. Hey look Gordo, do you want to talk about this over the phone? It'd be great to hear your voice. : )  
  
Adam: No, Lizzie, not now, I need to ask you something first.  
  
Hilary: I'm sorry Gordo, I am. But, go ahead, ask me your question.  
  
As he was about to type in his message, his hands began to shake and he felt as if he were about to pass out. His head started to tingle and he was having great difficulty breathing. He felt like he was about to jump out of an airplane into the vast expanses of the open sky.  
  
Adam: all those things I said, about, you know, how I felt about you, well . . . .what do you think?  
  
Hilary: Um, not sure what you're asking. What do I think about what?  
  
Adam: You know how I feel about you, Lizzie. How do you feel about me?  
  
He did it. He asked the question he had been dying to ask for as long as he could remember. After typing in his question, he sat back, closed his eyes, nervously played with his hands, and waited with baited breath for Lizzie's answer.  
  
****************************************************************************  
  
Second Author's Note:  
  
Sorry, another cliffhanger, I know! I know you all hate these cliffhangers, but they are such great places to end a chapter! ;) Seriously, I thought it was appropriate to have this chapter end with Gordo waiting for Lizzie's response, just as the last chapter ended with Lizzie waiting for Gordo's response. Honestly, this chapter was going to be much longer, but I'm still need time to work on the second half, so I decided instead of keeping you all waiting much longer, I'm going to put up the first half of what I've written as chapter thirteen, and post the second half as chapter fourteen. Chapter Fourteen should be up very, very shortly, I promise!  
  
And, thanks for all those reviews for chapter twelve! Wow, that was such an amazing response, it makes a writer feel great. Anyway, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please read and review!!! Thanks so much, hm 


	14. Chapter 14 Darkness Before the Dawn

Author's Note: here's chapter fourteen! Sorry it took longer than I expected, this was an incredibly difficult chapter to write. Okay, here's the story, please read and review! And the next chapter should be up shortly. And after you finish reading this chapter, remember, that it's always darkest right before dawn.  
  
Also, if you are interested in being notified whenever I update one of my stories, just drop me an email! I do plan to finish all the stories I'm presently working on. I should be updating A Second Chance soon. hm  
  
____________________________________________________________________________ __  
  
As he was about to type in his message, his hands began to shake and he felt as if he were about to pass out. His head started to tingle and he was having great difficulty breathing. He felt like he was about to jump out of an airplane into the vast expanses of the open sky.  
  
Adam: all those things I said, about, you know, how I felt about you, well . . . .what do you think?  
  
Hilary: Um, not sure what you're asking. What do I think about what?  
  
Adam: You know how I feel about you, Lizzie. How do you feel about me?  
  
He did it. He asked the question he had been dying to ask for as long as he could remember. After typing in his question, he sat back, closed his eyes, nervously played with his hands, and waited with baited breath for Lizzie's answer . . . .  
  
Lizzie saw Gordo's question, and her heart began to sink. Oh, my, gosh, no, no, no, he didn't, he didn't, he didn't, he did not ask me that question . . . .  
  
She banged her head against the desk.  
  
Yes, yes he did.  
  
With a breath, she lifted her head, stared at the computer screen, began biting on her nails, and wondered about all the ways she could avoid answering the question.  
  
How do I feel? How do I feel? Gordo, I don't know, I really don't know, I am so confused right now, I can't believe you asked me that question, I can't believe it . . . .  
  
She kept biting her nails as she thought about everything that had happened on this night, and how for a moment, before Gordo had told her that he was falling in love with "Hilary," she wanted nothing more than to tell Gordo that she loved him, too. But now, she could only think about how so quickly Gordo had professed his love to that *other* woman.  
  
Maybe he really doesn't love me, after all, maybe he never was in love with me . . . .  
  
With feelings of jealousy, hurt, betrayal and hopeless confusion tugging at her heart, she tentatively typed in her response.  
  
Hilary: well, I don't know Gordo, I'm not sure, I'm just a little bit confused, you know?  
  
Confused??? His heart sank as he saw her message. That was *not* the answer he wanted to hear. Confused? About what?  
  
He leaned back in his chair and mustered all his strength to suppress those painful feelings of rejection from overwhelming him.  
  
Okay man, calm down, calm down, just ask her what she means, she could mean a lot of things by that, come on, it's too late to turn back now, it's now or never, you're about to find out how she feels about you, one way or the other . . . .  
  
Adam: Confused? Confused in a good way or a bad way?  
  
Hilary: I'm just confused, you know, about us. Confused about us. Yeah, that's it. : )  
  
Oh! Right! Of course! David slapped himself on his forehead. Gordo Gordo Gordo, he muttered, that's a stupid question to ask, of course she's confused, because she still has a boyfriend! She can't in good conscience answer the question!  
  
Adam: oh, yeah, sure, Lizzie, I understand, I do, I really do.  
  
Hilary: Really?  
  
Adam: Yeah, I do. I mean, that's not a fair question to ask of you since you're seeing someone right now.  
  
Oh! Gordo still thinks I'm going out with Stewart! thought Lizzie. Ohmigosh, that's right, I never told him we broke up. Ugh, this has been such the strangest, complicated night . . . .  
  
She raised her head, looked up towards the ceiling, seeking guidance from above.  
  
Should I . . . should I tell him now?  
  
Hilary: um, yeah, Stewart. I forgot about him.  
  
Adam: How is he, by the way?  
  
Hilary: Gordo, I need to tell you something, I want to tell you something.  
  
Adam: okay, so tell me, what's up? : )  
  
Hilary: Gordo, I broke up with Stewart a couple of months ago. I caught him cheating on me, it was so awful, so I broke it off with him.  
  
"Wha . . .?" David's jaw dropped wide open. "She -she-broke up with Stewart?" When he finally grasped the meaning of that statement, he lept up from his seat and pumped his fists. "Yes!!" He shouted out. "Yes, yes, yes! Thank god she finally broke up with that loser!"  
  
Still excited, he sat back in his seat to type in a response. His head was overflowing with the implications and possibilities of the profoundly different situation.  
  
Adam: You did???  
  
Hilary: yes.  
  
Adam: I mean, I'm so sorry about it. Really I am.  
  
Hilary: yeah, right! I bet you're thinking to yourself that you were right all along about Stewart, hmmm? ; )  
  
Adam: lol, you got me there, Lizzie! : ) Yeah, you know what I think of that guy, but, seriously, I'm sorry it didn't work out, honestly.  
  
Hilary: do you mean it?  
  
Adam: yeah, Lizzie, honestly and truly. Because I'm sure whatever happened between you two, it must have hurt, and the one thing I hate more than anything in the world is seeing you get hurt.  
  
Hilary: Thanks, Gordo, you're so good to me. : )  
  
Adam: like I said, I've always got your back, McGuire. : )  
  
Hilary: : ) : ) : )  
  
He smiled confidently, as he began to believe that there might be something magical and special about this night, in the way that he had "found" Lizzie through such amazing chance, and in the way that he had just found on that the woman he loved was no longer seeing her boyfriend.  
  
And, in the way that, on this night, he had finally told her the truth of his love for her.  
  
This night seemed like it was all starting to build towards some resolution, some epiphany, and with all their talk about destiny tonight, he could sense that something special and extraordinary was about to happen. He could feel it, he could feel it deep in his soul.  
  
Adam: Now, back to my earlier question. What about us, Lizzie? What do you think about us? The possibility of us?  
  
She cringed as she read Gordo's question. Oh Gordo, I was hoping you'd forget about that question.  
  
She didn't want to answer him, she didn't know how to him. She was, just as she told Gordo, still deeply confused, as she was still tormented by conflicting feelings and thoughts.  
  
Does he really love me? Did he truly mean all those things he said about me? Can I trust him? Do I want to trust him? Oh, I don't know, I don't know . . . all I know is it would feel so awful to tell him how I feel about him if he'd rather be with Hilary than with me . . .  
  
She sighed, and thought, yeah, I know it's insane to be jealous of myself, but I can't help it, that's how I feel right now. . . .  
  
Hilary: Okay I'll be honest, it's only fair. oh, Gordo, when you were telling "Hilary" how you felt about me, those were such the sweetest things ever anyone has ever said to me. Your words touched me so much.  
  
Adam: they did? : ) : )  
  
Hilary: yes! They did! : ) but . . .  
  
Uh-oh. But? But? But's not good, that's not good . . .  
  
Adam: but what?  
  
Hilary: Gordo, what I really want to know is, do you still feel that way about me? Right now? At this moment? Because I'm not so sure that you really do.  
  
"Huh?" David was absolutely stunned by Lizzie's response. For as long as he could remember, David had often imagined how Lizzie would respond if he told her that he was in love with her. And in the all the scenarios that he played out in his head, he never, ever expected her to doubt and question his feelings for her!  
  
"Man, life is so weird sometimes," he muttered.  
  
Adam: let me get this straight, Lizzie, after this entire night of me telling you that I've been in love with you since the fourth grade, you *still* aren't sure how I feel about you?  
  
Hilary: um, I really want to believe you, but, you know, it's a little hard, you know? Right? You understand?  
  
Adam: uh, the answer would be no there, Lizzie, no, I don't understand. You don't believe what I've been telling you all night? I don't get it, Lizzie, I really don't.  
  
Hilary: Come on Gordo, you've got to see my side. I mean, yeah, maybe you had a little crush on me way back when, but, now, I mean, how can you feel that way about me and yet just go and tell some stranger you've just met that you're falling in love with her?  
  
Adam: Okay, now I'm the one who is seriously confused. What stranger? I've been chatting with you all night!  
  
Hilary: You know who! Hilary! You told Hilary you were falling in love with her! Not with me, but with Hilary!  
  
Adam: Uh, Lizzie, are you okay? You do know that you are Hilary, right?  
  
Hilary: yes, yes, I know I'm really Hilary, but, *you* didn't know that.  
  
Adam: Let me get this straight, you're upset with me because I told you that I was falling in love with Hilary, who just so happens to be YOU?  
  
Hilary: Well, I'm trying to understand how you can love me and yet fall madly in love with a complete stranger you met online just a few hours ago. If that's case, maybe you don't really love me, right?  
  
Adam: uh, can I remind you again, Lizzie, that *you* are Hilary? Honestly, it all makes sense that I was falling in love with you, Hilary, because Hilary reminded me so much of you, Lizzie!  
  
Hilary: No, it doesn't make sense, Gordo. Because you didn't know I was Hilary, you thought you were falling in love with someone else.  
  
Adam: no, really, Lizzie, deep down, I knew you were Hilary, I did, honestly.  
  
Lizzie read Gordo's response and immediately thought, no, you're lying to me, Gordo, you're lying to me. Tears began streaming down her face.  
  
You're lying to me, Gordo, just like Stewart lied to me. . . .  
  
She started to remember that horrible day a few months ago when she found her boyfriend Stewart in bed with another woman. She remembered the way he kept telling her that he still really loved her and that the other woman didn't mean anything to him, that it was just a mistake.  
  
Just like the way Gordo was telling her now that he really loved her even though he had just been flirting and falling in love with another woman.  
  
And in this moment, she couldn't keep apart past and present, she couldn't differentiate between Stewart and Gordo, and her feelings began to go numb from the thoughts and memories of betrayal bombarding her heart.  
  
Hilary: I don't believe you Gordo! How could you be truly and deeply in love with me, with me, lizzie mcguire, if you could fall so quickly in love with some woman you just met over the internet??? Come on, tell me, Gordo! Tell me!!  
  
Adam: Lizzie, this is all so insane!! Hilary is YOU! You are Hilary!! This is all so surreal, and it's really getting frustrating. You are starting to make me so angry, Lizzie McGuire, you know that?  
  
Hilary: no, you have no right to be angry with me, Gordo, but I have every single right to be angry and upset with you! You sure weren't acting like you loved me when you were flirting with Hilary!!  
  
Adam: Lizzie, do you see what you're doing? You're acting as if I cheated on you!  
  
Hilary: um, yeah, maybe . . .  
  
Adam: Do you know how crazy that is? It makes no sense to accuse me of cheating on you since we never ever were together!  
  
But I still feel betrayed, Gordo, I do, I still do! whispered Lizzie. Ohhhh, this is all making me so dizzy, I don't know what's going on anymore . . . .  
  
Hilary: Look, Gordo, things have happened so fast, I don't know what to think or feel right now. All I know is I feel so hurt, so betrayed by everything that's happened tonight. Yeah, it may not make rational sense, but I'm a mess, Gordo, I'm a complete mess right now. Do you understand?  
  
"She's feeling betrayed by me?" shouted David. No, I'm the one who should feel betrayed! I spill my soul to her and she responds by accusing me of betraying her and cheating on her?? Oh man, this is too unreal!  
  
He couldn't think straight, as blood rushed through his head, and he kept thinking about everything he had told Lizzie tonight, and he never felt more embarrassed and exposed in his life.  
  
Adam: You're the one who's hurt and betrayed? What about the way you lied to me tonight? I can't believe you didn't tell me who you were, I can't believe you lied to me this entire time. It was like you were manipulating me and toying with my heart this entire time!  
  
Hilary: I'm sorry about that, really. But, Gordo, I can't help it, it still feels like you betrayed me, and I can't really trust you right now.  
  
Adam: Alright, I am officially in the twilight zone. This conversation epitomizes the height of absurdity. Tell me this, okay?  
  
Hilary: What's that?  
  
Adam: Why do you care so much?  
  
Hilary: huh?  
  
Adam: Why do you care so much whether or not I truly love you, and by you, I mean YOU, you Lizzie McGuire. It's not like we're going out, or it's not like we are about to go out with each other. Right?  
  
Hilary: I really don't know, Gordo. That's the honest truth. I just need some time, you know, to sort through my feelings.  
  
Adam: Oh geez, it's deja vu again. It's like our last conversation, isn't it? You're going to tell me you want some space now, right, and not want to talk to me again? Right?  
  
Hilary: Gordo, no, it's not like that at all. I just don't know what think right now.  
  
Adam: Well, I know this . . . best friends don't manipulate their best friends, best friends don't deceive their best friends.  
  
Hilary: I told you I'm sorry, Gordo! What more do you want from me?  
  
Adam: Nothing, absolutely nothing. Lizzie, I need to go.  
  
Hilary: You're going to leave now??  
  
Adam: Yeah well, I have to get some sleep. And I want to tell you, honestly, that yeah, I did love you, Lizzie, a long time ago, but not anymore, not now, especially after tonight. It was all a mistake, all a big mistake. You're absolutely right, I don't love you anymore.  
  
Hilary: Gordo! How can you say that?!?  
  
Adam: Isn't that what you wanted to hear? And, like I said, what do you care anyway? Right?  
  
Hilary: Gordo . . .  
  
Adam: Look, I've got to go. I'll email you or call you later. Alright? I've got to go, I really need to get some sleep.  
  
Hilary: Sure, whatever Gordo. Do whatever you want. Call me, email me, or not. I don't really care, I honestly don't care. Okay? I don't care if you never call me again!  
  
Adam: that's fine by me, that's fine by me. Goodnight, Lizzie. Have a good life.  
  
With that message, Adam Gerbalm logged out.  
  
Gordo was gone. 


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Author's Note: Here's chapter fifteen! Please read and review. It's almost nearing the end of the story, probably one or two more chapters to go. Thanks for all your reviews. HM _______________________________________________________________  
  
LIZZIE'S POV  
  
Lizzie kept staring at her computer screen, her gaze fixated on the message that read, "Adam Gerbalm has logged off."  
  
She read and re-read that message, and yet it still didn't register for her. She was stunned at how abruptly Gordo had left her.  
  
He's logged off? Wait, he's coming back, isn't he? I'm still angry with him! I still have some things I need to say to him!  
  
"Gordo?" she whispered.  
  
No, he's gone, he's gone, he's really gone . . . .  
  
With that realization, she slumped in her chair, put her elbows down on the desk, and covered her face with her hands.  
  
She began to sob, as tear drops gently yet persistently worked their way around her palms and gracefully slid down her arms.  
  
What--what just happened? Why did we fight like that? I don't understand, I don't understand . . . .  
  
She stood up from her desk and walked over to the bathroom. She grabbed the container of tissue and climbed on her bed. As she wiped the tears from her face, she shook her head and tried to sort through her messy feelings.  
  
Everything happened like the way the fortune teller said it would, being in San Francisco, meeting Adam, and a mouse being stuck on his hand, so, so, I don't get it, why did it turn into such an awful, awful nightmare?  
  
This wasn't supposed to happen, not like this, not like this . . . .  
  
And why am I still so angry with him? I mean he's right, isn't he? He didn't really do anything, he didn't cheat on me like Stewart . . .  
  
But, but, still, I'm right, I'm right, I can't trust him, there's no way I'm going to open my heart up and get hurt again. I can't love him if he doesn't really love me. I can't, I just can't, it's too scary, I just don't want to get hurt again . . . .  
  
She began to sob once more, consumed with despair, as a nagging feeling kept insisting to her that she may never see Gordo again.  
  
She then stood up, walked to the middle of her room, not knowing what to do with herself. She felt like she should get some rest, but she knew she was too upset and anxious to fall asleep.  
  
As she stood there, the room suddenly started to spin, as the weight of everything that happened came crashing over her. She looked at her wristwatch . . . it told her that it was 6:10 a.m. As her stomach started to kick and stir, she suddenly realized she hadn't eaten anything in quite some time.  
  
I need some food, right now.  
  
She remembered when she came up to the hotel room seeing a vending machine in a side-room next to the hotel elevator lobby. Starting to shake from fatigue, grief, and hunger, she hastily walked over to the desk, shuffled through her purse and grabbed some loose change.  
  
She then walked to the door, quietly turned the door handle, and stepped out into the hotel hallway.  
  
*********************************************************************  
  
DAVID'S POV  
  
As he logged off of the internet and turned off his computer, David yelled, "Argh, I hate you, Lizzie Mcguire!" He slammed shut his laptop computer, jumped out of his desk chair and began pacing around his hotel room at a furious clip.  
  
"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!!" He kept shouting at the wall as he circled around his bed, walked back and forth in front of the television, and then wandered back to his desk.  
  
He stood there, staring at his closed laptop, and muttering, " You can't trust me? Me? Geezus, I'm the one who shouldn't be trusting you Lizzie, lying to me like that, manipulating me like that!"  
  
I never want to have anything to do with her again, I don't care if I ever see her or talk to her . . . .  
  
Still deep in thought, he mindlessly continued to walk back and forth in front of the television.  
  
Man, this is exactly what needed for to happen, Gordo, so that you can forget about your childish fantasies and just move on with your life! You've got an amazing career ahead of you, that's what you need to be concentrating on. Forget Lizzie! Forget her!  
  
With that last thought, he stopped dead in his tracks, thought for a moment, then dug into his pants pockets and picked up the little mouse figurine, lifted it up to the light, and gazed at its worn ears and fading smile.  
  
His hand began to shake as his heart was flooded with fond, nostalgic memories of being together with Lizzie. He couldn't stop himself from smiling as he watched all those wonderful moments with her flash and flicker in his mind.  
  
He fought back tears, squeezed the figurine, and muttered to himself, oh, god, even though I hate you right now, I still love you, Lizzie . . . .  
  
For past several moments, when he had been fighting with Lizzie, all he could feel was an overpowering, visceral anger towards the woman he loved, and he wanted to do nothing more than to hurt Lizzie the way she had hurt him tonight. He wanted her to feel for herself the pain and rejection he was feeling.  
  
And when he wrote his final message to Lizzie, he thought he knew exactly what he wanted . . . he wanted to have nothing anymore to do with Lizzie McGuire, he wanted to banish away all the love he had ever felt for her, and he wanted to move on as if she had never been a part of his life.  
  
But, those feelings of anger were now being joined by feelings of love, grief, sadness, and longing. As he gazed mindlessly at the blank television screen, he whispered, "What in the world just happened?"  
  
Did I actually tell her that I didn't love her anymore? Did I really tell her that I'd be happy never talking to her again?  
  
The hotel room fell deathly quiet as he just stood there, in front of the television, looking up at the ceiling, wondering about Lizzie, wondering about where she was, what she was feeling, what she was thinking.  
  
Emotionally spent, he looked at his wristwatch. It was now 6:00 a.m. He been up all night chatting with Hilary/Lizzie and now it was almost time for him to start work on his film. But, in this moment, he could care less about his movie and film career, all he could think about was the awful, black feeling lodged firmly in his chest, wishing he could go back in time and change everything that happened just a few minutes ago.  
  
He got up from his desk and plopped onto the bed. Despondent, he put his head on the pillow and tried to fall asleep, hoping to escape, temporarily, from those conflicting emotions nagging and tugging at his heart.  
  
A few minutes later, as he tossed and turned in his bed, he muttered, "damn it, I can't sleep," and sat himself up.  
  
"God, I'm such a schmuck!" He yelled to himself. "Why did I let myself believe things were going to turn out alright?"  
  
He felt so incredibly stupid and naïve for allowing himself to get caught up in fantasies about magic, synchronicity, and destiny, for thinking that on this night something special and serendipitious would occur.  
  
That's what you get for believing in superstitious fantasy, Gordo, a complete and utter nightmare. He yelled angrily, "Come on man, you knew deep inside you and Lizzie never were meant to be together!"  
  
He got up off the bed again and began to pace once more, propelled by another surge of volatile and angry adrenaline.  
  
"Arggggghhh!" He shouted. It's no use, I'm a complete wreck. I can't stop loving and hating you at the same time. Lizzie McGuire, you've done some number on me, you really have . . . .  
  
As he was immersing himself in self-pity and despair, suddenly, he began to feel his throat constrict, as if someone was grabbing him by the neck. I - I can't breathe . . . .  
  
Gasping for air, fueled by a surge of nervous energy, he jumped off the bed, grabbed his coat, and began heading towards the door.  
  
I've got to get out of here, I'm suffocating, I need to get some air, I need to get outside, I need to get out of this room!  
  
He quickly turned the door handle, opened it, stepped out of his room and into the hotel hallway.  
  
As he turned left to head towards the elevator, he started to pass by the room next to him, hotel room 333. As he was walking right past the door, he heard the door opening from the inside. He briefly turned his head towards room 333, but he couldn't see inside and he kept on walking.  
  
After he had taken a few steps, a strange sensation flowed and coursed throughout his body, a sense of familiarity flooded his mind. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned around. He watched as a young blonde woman started to walk out of room number 333 and start to turn towards him.  
  
She -- she looks really familiar, she looks a lot like, she looks a lot like . . . .  
  
When she finally turned fully facing him, his jaw dropped as his eyes made contact with the blonde woman's eyes. It's, it's, it's, oh my god, it's . . . .  
  
"Lizzie!?!??"  
  
The blonde woman stared straight into David's eyes, and her face began turning pale from the shock of utterly unanticipated recognition.  
  
"Go-Gordo!?!?" 


	16. Chapter Sixteen They Meet

Author's Note: Here's Chapter Sixteen! Sorry about the cliffhangers, and sorry to keep you all waiting. I've been very busy and then I got sick, and I want to make sure the story finishes on a good note . . . . but, enough yapping, here's the next chapter. Please read and review! HM  
  
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Am I dreaming? He wondered.  
  
He stared at the woman across from him, standing only a few feet away, a woman who looked and sounded a lot like his best friend, Lizzie McGuire.  
  
But . . . but, it can't be her, that's impossible . . . .  
  
He felt the whole hallway start to spin, as he was trying very hard but unsuccessfully to grapple with the unexpected turn in this remarkable, astonishing, and surprise-filled night.  
  
Lizzie looked back at Gordo with a similar look of deep puzzlement and astonishment.  
  
This can't be real, Gordo's not here, nu-uh, I was just chatting with him online and he's somewhere else very far away. I'm just having the most realistic dream I've ever had in my life . . . .  
  
She stared intently at his familiar curly brown hair and at his comforting, amiable blue eyes.  
  
It sure looks like him, though, and he even knows my name . . . .  
  
Time stood still as they just gazed at each other from across the hallway, separated by only a few feet, but they might as well have been standing light years apart . . . .  
  
He noticed that she was in her familiar red blouse and tattered blue jeans, with her blonde hair up. Even though she looked disheveled and tired, all he could think to himself was how amazingly beautiful she was.  
  
Waitaminute, he thought, shouldn't I still be angry with her? Remember all those awful things she had just said about you?  
  
But, it was no use, all those feelings of hurt, resentment, and embarassment were dissipating at a feverish pace. The completely unexpected sight of his friend standing just a few feet away from him was washing away his negative emotions and replacing them with the wonderful joy of being reunited with his best friend, with the woman he loved.  
  
After another moment had passed, he finally gave into his nearly irresistible desire to give Lizzie a big, long, and heartfelt embrace.  
  
'Lizzie!" He shouted as he rushed over to her and grabbed a hold of her with almost everything he had. "Lizzie! Lizzie McGuire! It's you, it's really you!"  
  
He continued to hold on to her tightly, almost as if his life depended on it, twisting her affectionately from side to side, lifting her feet slightly off the floor.  
  
"Oh!" She smiled as she felt herself being gently tugged around like a rag doll.  
  
"Oh man, Lizzie, this is unbelievable, you are really here! Right now! With me! Un-freakin'- believable!" He shouted, shaking his head in joyful disbelief.  
  
She was initially taken aback by his sudden embrace and her body instinctively stiffened up. She wasn't sure whether she wanted to be hugged by Gordo, because she still was in daze, not sure whether this was really happening, not sure whether this was all just a bizarre, surreal dream.  
  
Dream or no dream, she could feel the sensations of Gordo's arms wrapped firmly around her body, and she could feel herself absorbing the joy and happiness radiating from his heart.  
  
It felt absolutely wonderful . . . . it felt like she was coming home.  
  
And with that thought, she let herself go, and as she curled her lips into a warm smile, she placed her head on his shoulders and finally returned his embrace with a gentle but firm tug.  
  
"Oh, Gordo . . . ." She whispered into his ears. "Tell me, how in the world, I mean, what are you, why are you -- how did you end up here?"  
  
He reluctantly broke his embrace, peered into her eyes, and said, "I was gonna ask you the same thing! Oh man, this is unbelievable, I just can't, I just can't get over it."  
  
Once the pair began talking, they began talking again the way they always did. They chattered away like they had never been apart.  
  
'I want to ask you the same thing! You . . . I was just chatting with you on the computer, and you're not supposed to be in San Francisco, you're supposed to be in Boston!"  
  
"No, I'm here, you know, on an assignment, I just flew in tonight from Logan Airport . . ."  
  
"Me, too! I mean, I didn't fly in from Logan, I just got in tonight from Washington, D.C., I'm here to work on my film . . . ."  
  
"Your film? You mean, you got that film deal you've been working on forever?"  
  
"Yeah! It's so awesome, Lizzie, I'm gonna make my first movie, it's such an unbelievable feeling!"  
  
"Oh, Gordo, that's so amazing! I knew it would work out for you, I just knew it! I'm so happy for you!" She smiled, with a noticeable gleem in her eyes letting Gordo know just how proud she was of him.  
  
"Aww, thanks, Lizzie, you've always had my back with my career. But, 'nuff about me, what about you? What are you doing in San Francisco?"  
  
"I got an assignment in San Francisco to cover some big criminal trial. I'm staying in this hotel for at least the next couple of weeks, maybe a month. . . ."  
  
"Me too! I'm staying here until I can find a cheap apartment to rent or sublet for the couple of months it's going to take to do the filming . . . ."  
  
"Ohmigosh, that's so great Gordo! That means we get to hang out together!"  
  
"Uh, yeah, that'll be awesome! We've always talked about visiting San Francisco together, remember?"  
  
He felt his heart jumping and skipping around, enamored by all the possibilities the future seemed to offer. And as he kept muttering to himself, she is so beautiful, man, she is so beautiful, it took all his might to stop himself from leaping towards her, grabbing her face with both his hands and kissing her deeply with all the love in his heart.  
  
She laughed, then said, "Of course I remember! I was the one who suggested it in the first place!"  
  
Her eyes sparkled, anticipating the fun and joy of exploring the city by the bay with her best friend, with the man she was falling in love with . . . .  
  
And with that thought, her heart immediately froze.  
  
Waitaminute, did I just admit to myself that I'm falling in love with Gordo?  
  
As all the painful, bittersweet memories of the night tumbled back into her mind, she instantly felt all the life and energy being sucked out of her. She was succumbing to her fatigue and emotions, and she started to feel dizzy and faint.  
  
No, no, I can't be, I'm not falling in love with Gordo, I-I can't fall in love with him, I don't want to get hurt ever again . . . .  
  
As her body began to shake, she closed her eyes and braced herself against the wall.  
  
His smile disappeared as he saw the sudden change in her body language. "Are -- are you okay, Lizzie?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm just really tired and hungry, it's been a long night, you know?" She replied, with a slight melancholy in her voice.  
  
"Oh. Yeah. I guess, for me, too." He could tell that she was thinking about their fight, which seemed like it happened several thousand years ago, in a different place, in an altogether different world.  
  
Try as hard as he might, he couldn't stop the memories of the fight from creeping back into his consciousness, as he began to replay the awful conversation word for word in his head.  
  
For Lizzie, she had been briefly energized by the surprise of seeing Gordo in the hallway, but now, the fatigue and hunger was fighting back and starting to sap away her strength and focus. She was starting to feel delirious and drunk, just like the time in high school when she suffered a mild concussion in gym class.  
  
And in this semi-conscious, delirious, dream-like state, she felt herself thinking and wanting to say whatever thought popped into her mind.  
  
"Soooo, Gordo, you've been in love with me since the fourth grade, huh?" She smiled slyly.  
  
He froze. He didn't respond.  
  
What's she up to? He did *not* like the tone of her voice.  
  
"But you're over me now, right? And you're in love with little Ms. Hilary Duff, hmmm?"  
  
She said the name "Hilary Duff" as if she had just tasted some sour milk.  
  
He furrowed his eyebrows, puzzled by her odd demeanor. "Uh, Lizzie, you sure you're okay? You don't sound right. To tell you the truth, you're sound a little flighty right now."  
  
"I'm perfectly fine, Mr. Gordon. You haven't answered my question, though!" She said, struggling to keep her eyes opened as she talked.  
  
"I don't think so, Lizzie, come on, you need some sleep, let's get you back into your room and we can talk about all of this tomorrow."  
  
"No! I want to talk about this right now!! C'mon, tell me the truth, you're in love with Hilary, right?"  
  
"Uh, Lizzie, please? Not now, you're not feeling right, let's talk about this after we both had a good night's sleep."  
  
"I knew it! You are in love with her. Ugh. I hate her, you know that? And I hate you, "Gordo. You're just like Stewart, and I reeeeaalllly hate him."  
  
"Lizzie, you are making absolutely no sense!"  
  
"No! I'm making perfect sense! You love Hilary. I hate Hilary. And I hate Stewart. And I hate you, Gordo. Well, that's partial true. I love you, and that's why I hate you. Kapisch?"  
  
"Not really, Lizzie, no," He responded nonchalantly.  
  
Although he tried to make sure she wouldn't notice, but he felt his heart skip a beat when he heard her say that she loved him. He realized that she wasn't quite herself right now, and may not even remember anything she was saying, but hearing those words from her was making his heart quiver and shake something fierce.  
  
Man, I am absolute puddy in her hands, he whispered to himself.  
  
"And, Gordo?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"One more thing."  
  
"What's that?"  
  
"I think I'm going to faint . . . ."  
  
With that last sentence, Lizzie's eyes closed themselves shut and she started to fall into Gordo's arms. . . . .  
  
*********************************************************  
  
A few moments later, Lizzie woke up to be surrounded by piercing darkness.  
  
"Wha-what happened? What's happening?" She looked around the room but she couldn't see anything.  
  
Wh- where am I?  
  
Oh . . . I'm lying in a bed. But, wasn't I just out in the hallway with Gordo?  
  
Very much confused, she reached over to the night-stand, groped for the night-lamp, found it, and turned the switch on.  
  
The room was instantly bathed with a soft, yellow light. She put her hands over her eyes, shielding herself from the sharp sting of the lamp's glowing brightness.  
  
Once her eyes adjusted to the light, she glanced around the room and quickly realized that she wasn't in her hotel room.  
  
Instead, she was in a more familiar room . . . . it was her bedroom in her Boston apartment.  
  
I'm . . . home . . . but, but, I was just in my hotel room, wasn't I?  
  
Wasn't I?  
  
She looked at the stuffed animals on her drawer, smiling at her warmly as they always do, took a deep breath, shook her head, and thought to herself, did I just dream everything that happened last night?  
  
I guess I did . . . .  
  
She hoped her stuffed animals would give her a definitive answer, but they were curiously silent about what was going on.  
  
Wow, what an intense dream that was, it was so realistic and vivid . . . .  
  
She paused for a moment, reflected back upon all that had occurred during her "dream," and then thought, I wonder if he really does loves me?  
  
She looked at her stuffed animals again, seeking more reassuring smiles from them, then she reached over to the lamp to turn it off so that she could go back to sleep.  
  
But, just before her hands could reach the light, she heard a loud, deep, voice say to her, "It's time for you to wake up, Lizzie McGuire!"  
  
She looked around all over the room, but no one was there. "Is -- is that you, Miranda? Are you playing some kind of joke?"  
  
Silence.  
  
Okay, McGuire, now you're starting to hear things . . . . which just means it's really time for you to get back to sleep . . . .  
  
Just as she was about to turn off the lamp again, suddenly, at the foot of the bed, she saw the gypsy fortune teller standing there, looking at her with eyes of piercing steel. With a crystal ball in her left hand, she pointed her long, gnarly, sinister looking finger at Lizzie and she boomed in a loud, menacing voice, "It's time for you to wake up, Lizzie McGuire, it's time for you to stop resisting your destiny!"  
  
*********************************************************  
  
"Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs.  
  
She jumped up from her bed and flailed her arms in a state of utter panic.  
  
"Lizzie! Are you okay?"  
  
She heard a concerned voice coming from her left side, then she felt a hand gently touch her on the arm.  
  
She turned around to see Gordo, sitting next to her in a chair, with a look of concern in his eyes.  
  
"Lizzie! Are you alright? Say something!"  
  
"Wh-where am I?"  
  
"We're in your hotel room. Don't you remember what happened?"  
  
"Oh, yeah. Last thing I remember I was talking with you in the hallway," she said. "So, how did we end up here?"  
  
"We were talking and all of sudden you fainted, and I just barely caught you and then brought you back into your room. Wait, let me get you some water."  
  
As she watched Gordo get off his chair and head towards the bathroom, everything that had happened earlier this night starting sinking right back in.  
  
Oh, wow.  
  
Wow.  
  
This has been some night, she whispered, as waited for Gordo to come back. And as she laid in her bed, she kept thinking about the dream she just had, and about what the gypsy woman had told her . . . it's time for you to stop resisting your destiny . . . . 


End file.
